PODIUM. Journal of Science and Technology in Physical Culture, January-April 2023; 18(1): e1451.
Translated from the original in spanish
Editorial
Basketball told from local history
El baloncesto contado desde la historia local
Basquetebol contado pela história local
Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente1*
1University of Pinar del Río Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca, Faculty of Physical Culture "Nancy Uranga Romagoza". Pinar del Río, Cuba.
*Autor para la correspondencia: fernando.valladares@upr.edu.cu
The theme that has motivated the Editorial writing of this issue is related to the history of Basketball. But it makes no sense to carry out research to highlight novel elements if they already appear in a detailed and professional manner in various sources such as Kirchberg (2007) and Nelson (2009).
It is considered that the need to promote the history of Cuban basketball is not imposed either, since it is a topic addressed in valuable works that collect the best of what happened in events, transcendental moments and the trajectory of outstanding sports glories since the beginning of basketball on the Island, to the participation of Cuban teams in international competitions, Central American Games, Olympics and others (León, Aguilar, 2000; Rodríguez et al., 2020; Buides et al., 2021; Rodríguez, Anoceto, 2022).
Consequently, the intention of this work is fundamentally based on addressing aspects of the evolution of basketball as part of the local history of the Pinar del Río province.
Based on these historical considerations, the editorial team of the journal decided to apply an interview to 2 manager-coaches who currently play a relevant role in the training of basketball athletes in the Province, they were: Ola Elena Hernández, provincial basketball commissioner, with more than 20 years of sports experience and graduated in 1992 with a Degree in Physical Culture from the Superior Institute of Physical Culture (ISCF) "Manuel Fajardo" and Reinaldo Perdomo, known for Poty, who has dedicated more than 30 years of his life to training such a distinctive sport in the Pinar del Río terroir.
According to the criteria of these sports professionals, basketball entered Cuba through students who came from North American schools. Coincidentally, on December 15, 2022, it was 131 years since its predecessor James Naismith founded and promoted this sport worldwide.
Particularly in Cuba, the first steps were taken by Cuban students who had obtained scholarships in North American schools and generally used sports as an activity for the healthy use of free time. The institution where the first teachers who taught Basketball as a subject in the province were trained was the "Isabel Rubio" Educational Improvement Institute (IPE) , located on Alameda street, in Pinar del Río. This site was previously a hospital and later a Normalista school.
In the 1960s, various professors from the Province such as Félix Gallar, Juan Hernández, Reinaldo Rivera (the Pope), Guzo and Juan Avilén , were in charge of training the first generations that trained this sport in the men's category teams; Meanwhile, in the female category, the work carried out by Yilian Pérez, the jimaguas and Sonia Soberón, among others, was well known.
Subsequently, the Sports Initiation School (EIDE) was created and became the protagonist of this training, in which personalities such as Amadito, Montano and Panchón stood out. Commonly, the teams formed were named The Vultures, The Tigers and other nicknames were also used to give color and identity to the matches. In addition, it was played by teams that represented the northern and southern regions of the Province.
In the case of Pinar del Río, it has competed since its inception in the first categories, both for the men's and women's teams. One of the participants in the first games that represented the Province was Juan A. Pozo who also competed in the Olympiad in Munich, Germany, in 1972; other athletes from Pinar del Río were Pilar Mojena, Odalis Cala, Ana Gloria Hernández and Olga Lidia Vil who participated in the Central American Games, among other important events. In the male order, the performances of Pedro Covarrubias, Reinaldo Pérez Chacón, Andrés González, Eliecer Rojas and Eliecer Quintana stood out, to mention some of the most significant.
In the trajectory carried out by the Province in basketball, not only has the edge of the athletes been remarkable; also, continuity has been given to the work of Julio Yánez, who directed the Provincial Commissioner, for a long period of time. In addition, high levels of effectiveness have been maintained from the recruitment of talents to create a youth academy in the EIDE, to the development of the sport seen from the training process and the performance of the competitions. In the case of the teams that represent the women's category, it was possible to provide elite athletes for the higher league who reached the first places from 2013 to 2016 and in the case of the men's team they were National Champions in 2017.
In the area of science, research has been carried out that delves into the effectiveness of basketball and it can be mentioned, among the most outstanding studies, the one that addresses the physical preparation of the athlete, by the PhD Pedro Alberto Martínez Hernández.
Despite the challenges and adversities that the Province has faced, sport has remained as a bulwark and conquest; in this sense, the results are demonstrated with numbers, since Pinar del Río has managed to contribute 7 athletes to the country's A team and 13 to B team; among these athletes are Tahimi Fernández, Lisset Castillo, Olga Lidia Vil, Marcía Casanova, Raquel Pérez and Milagro Garriga, to name a few that set the standard in their time.
But history does not end with these memories, basketball from Pinar del Río continues in action, surpasses itself, innovates, applies science and, above all, has withstood the ravages of the pandemic and natural phenomena such as hurricanes and prolonged periods of drought.
In the training of the new generations, new talents have emerged, such as Alejandra Diales Moreno and Jennifer María Díaz Amador, students of the EIDE Ormani Arenado Llonch, who have trained this sport since primary and secondary education respectively, and once inserted in the EIDE have perfected their qualities. This shows that the spirit of basketball came to stay in Pinar del Río and to show off international achievements as athletes from the Pinar del Río team and as members of the Cuba team.
Fig. 1. - The two talented athletes and Poty, their coach
REFERENCES
Buides, R. C. H., Cárdenas, J. B. P., & González, M. R. (2021). Baloncesto 3x3. Génesis y evolución en la universidad. Acción, 17 (Especial). http://accion.uccfd.cu/index.php/accion/article/view/192/637
Kirchberg, C. (2007). Hoop lore: a history of the National Basketball Association. McFarland. https://books.google.co.zm/books?id=spJT3VxogqIC&printsec=copyright#v=onepage&q&f=false
León, M. Á. B., & Aguiar, A. S. A. (2000). Orígenes histórico-educativos del baloncesto. Vegueta: Anuario de la Facultad de Geografía e Historia. 5. https://revistavegueta.ulpgc.es/ojs/index.php/revistavegueta/article/view/198
Nelson, M. R. (2009). The National Basketball League: A History, 1935-1949. McFarland. https://books.google.com.cu/books/about/The_National_Basketball_League.html?id=QDtMzQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Rodríguez, E. P., & Anoceto, A. O. R. (2022). Grisel Herrera Méndez, una gloria del Baloncesto cubano. Ciencia y Actividad Física, 8(2), 24-36. http://revistaciaf.uclv.edu.cu/index.php/CIAF/article/view/152
Rodríguez, H. O., Balón, G. N., González, J. J. D., & Lauzurica, L. D. (2020). Estado morfológico de basquetbolistas élites femeninas cubanas en el año olímpico 2008. Revista Cubana de Medicina del Deporte y la Cultura Física, 5(2). https://revmedep.sld.cu/index.php/medep/article/view/310
Conflict of interests:
The authors declare not to have any interest conflicts.
Authors' contribution:
The authors have participated in the writing of the work and analysis of the documents
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license
Copyright (c) 2023 Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente.