Catalonia national basketball team

The Catalonia autonomous basketball team is the basketball team of Catalonia. The team is not affiliated to FIBA, so only plays friendly games. Their last game was played in 2023 against Argentina.

Catalonia
National federationFederació Catalana de Basquetbol
CoachSalva Maldonado
First international
Catalonia Catalonia 16–50 Hindú Club Argentina
(Catalonia, Spain; 25 March 1927)
Biggest win
Catalonia Catalonia 101–70 Cuba Cuba
(Badalona, Spain; 30 June 2005)
Biggest defeat
Catalonia Catalonia 82–118 Croatia Croatia
(Badalona, Spain; 24 May 1992)

History

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Catalonia started to play in 1927 a friendly game against Hindú Club of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Catalonia lost by 50–16.

From 1929 to 1936, the team played several friendly games with another European regions.

In April 1980, Catalonia plays several games against Basque Country, and other games against important teams like the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia.

In 1992, Catalonia played a game against Croatia; Croatia won by 118-82 led with 30 points of Toni Kukoč and 21 point of Dražen Petrović. The game was played as the opening of new Olympic arena,[1] before the special qualifying tournament that was held for European teams to allocate four extra berths.

Several years later, in 2002 Catalonia played for a second time against Croatia in Palau Sant Jordi, with a record attendance of 16,471 spectators. With players like Juan Carlos Navarro or Pau Gasol, Catalonia wins by 82–75.

In 2005, Catalonia played against Cuba at Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona winning by a huge margin: 101–70.

Last Catalonia appearances were in the Torneo de las Naciones, a tournament co-organized with Galicia and Basque Country. It was played from 2008 to 2010 and Catalans won the last edition.

In 2018, the women's team returned to activity with an 83–57 win against Montenegro at Pavelló Fontajau in Girona.

After 13 years, the Catalonia men's team played a friendly game against Argentina on 25 July 2023 in Manresa, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Catalan Basketball Federation.[2]

Games played

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The Catalonia national basketball team before a friendly game in 2023
Date Venue Home Team Visitor Score
25 Mar 1927 Catalonia   Catalonia   Hindú Club
16–50
8 Dec 1929 Barcelona   Catalonia   Ambrosiana Milano
29–42
13 Jul 1930 Barcelona   Catalonia   Foyer alsacien Mulhouse
29–26
17 Jul 1932 Barcelona   Catalonia   CA Colonne
31–22
1933 Barcelona   Catalonia   Castile
29–33
Apr 1980 Valls   Catalonia   Basque Country
102–84
Apr 1980 Vic   Catalonia   Basque Country
99–92
Apr 1980 Vitoria-Gasteiz   Basque Country   Catalonia
96–101
Apr 1980 Bilbao   Basque Country   Catalonia
129–124
Apr 28 1980 Badalona   Catalonia   Soviet Union
97–109
Jun 1982 Barcelona   Catalonia   Brazil
81–76
Jun 1982 Barcelona   Catalonia   France
111–98
Jun 1982 Barcelona   Catalonia   Czechoslovakia
110–94
Dec 26 1987 Barcelona   Catalonia   Yugoslavia
95–120
May 24 1992 Badalona   Catalonia   Croatia
82–118
Jun 27 2002 Barcelona   Catalonia   Croatia
82–75
Jun 30 2005 Badalona   Catalonia   Cuba
101–70
Jun 6 2008 Girona   Catalonia   Basque Country
79–81
Jun 7 2008 Girona   Catalonia   Portugal
93–63
Jun 26 2009 Bilbao   Catalonia   Canada
68–69
Jun 26 2009 Bilbao   Catalonia   Galicia
93–72
Jul 2 2010 Lugo   Catalonia   Basque Country
76–72
Jul 3 2010 Lugo   Catalonia   Lithuania 'B'
78–67
25 July 2023 Manresa   Catalonia   Argentina
88-94

Roster

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The Catalonia team for their July 2023 friendly against Argentina

This was the roster of the Catalan team for the 2010 Torneo de las Naciones.

Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PG 5 Dani Rodríguez 26 – (1984-02-13)13 February 1984 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) CB Tarragona  
SF 7 Marc Blanch 28 – (1982-01-12)12 January 1982 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Bàsquet Mallorca  
PG 8 Quino Colom 21 – (1988-11-01)1 November 1988 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Baloncesto Fuenlabrada  
PF 9 Roger Fornas 27 – (1982-10-24)24 October 1982 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) BC Andorra  
SF 10 Xavier Rabaseda 21 – (1989-02-24)24 February 1989 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) CB Cornellà  
PF 11 Andreu Matalí 29 – (1981-02-26)26 February 1981 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) BC Andorra  
PF 12 Josep Ortega 26 – (1984-04-06)6 April 1984 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) CB Sant Josep  
SF 15 Edgar San Epifanio 22 – (1987-10-05)5 October 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) CB Cornellà  
C 16 Guille Rubio 27 – (1982-10-14)14 October 1982 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) CB Málaga  
SG 23 David Navarro 27 – (1983-05-17)17 May 1983 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) CB Sant Josep  
Head coach
  •   Salva Maldonado

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club field describes pro club
    during the 2010–11 season

Notable players

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Prije 20 godina: Sve utakmice Hrvatske do Olimpijskih igara u Barceloni" (in Croatian). Crošarka. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Cataluña se medirá a Argentina por su centenario". Infobae (in European Spanish). 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
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