From Lisbon in 1999 to Debrecen in 2023; of the generation of ’81 to that of 2004, albeit with an asterisk. The U-19 team won another world gold medal 24 years later and from Gasol, Navarro, Reyes and company we have gone on to Almansa, Miller, Villar… Two generations dressed in gold, although in the case of the latter we could speak more of a multigeneration that includes several years. Izan Almansa, Lucas Langarita and Sergio de Larrea, born a year later, in 2005, they achieved the world silver medal last summer in Malaga Under-17 and in this 2023 they have reinforced a team that rose to the top in the European Under-18 (also Almansa, who doubled that summer), turning Izmir 2022 (Türkiye) into his particular Varna 1998 (Bulgaria). Rafa Villar, Jordi Rodríguez, Alejandro Moreno, Sediq Garuba, Luis García, David Gómez and Victory Onuetu, apart from the multi-MVP Almansa, can boast of being U-18 and U-19 gold as happened to the most successful generation in basketball Spanish, but other national pearls have been left out of the Hungarian event because it has prevailed to maintain the group. among the absent, Juan Nunez, a precocious point guard also born in 2004, but used to playing with the older ones. The man from Madrid, who last summer decided to change Real Madrid for Ulm, with whom he has won the Bundesliga, he will be with the U-20 Team again, defending the title he won the previous year in a championship in which he was the MVP.
But looking down, many carats also shine. Starting with the generation of 2005, with three Under-19 champions (the aforementioned Almansa, Langarita and De Larrea) and with a player aiming for the Top-5 of the next NBA draft: aday mara. The center from Zaragoza, who astonished the world in Malaga last year, has not been to Debrecen but he will play the U-18 European Championship together with other generation mates. Among them, Conrad Martínez, an explosive point guard, who, like Mara, will try college basketball American after leaving the Joventut youth academy. More Lucas Mari (Valencia Basket), Álvaro Folgueiras (DME Academy Florida)… A generation that made its debut last year in an official championship and whose great potential was already being warned. But in that World Cup Hugo González (2006) was also there, who this season has already had a few minutes with Real Madrid. And next to him could also be another born in 2006: Mario Saint-Supery, MVP of the European Under-16, and who has also slipped into Ibon Navarro’s plans with Unicaja. many names for one multigeneration that looks very good, that he will continue fighting this summer for more golds and that This Monday the first of the harvest was celebrated in Madrid.