More than 1250 players from four different continents will visit Girona’s basketball courts at Easter
The basketball tournaments “Costa Brava-Girona Basket” and “TOP European” presented yesterday in Platja d’Aro the corresponding editions for this year, which will have the record of participation. Girona Basket will take place for sixth year in a row in the courts around Girona and will host more than 80 teams on April 18th, 19thand 20th. TOP European will repeat after last year’s success and, as its name states, will welcome six top teams at the Platja d’Aro pavilion, between April 14thand 17th.
Not only this year tournaments will beat the participation record, but they will also have very diversity as they will count on the presence of teams from four out of five continents: from Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania) or Apollo Amsterdam (Netherlands) to the American high school Palm Beach Gardens Starzz, by way of the exotic YISCA (Kenya) or PSSA (Dubai).
The Costa Brava-Girona Basket will start its sixth edition more consolidated than ever in its sector. The male groups will keep their usual format of 16 in each one, whereas the female groups have experienced a strong growth and will gather a total of 26 teams. The courts of Fontajau, Sant Gregori, Palau Sacosta, Montfalgars, Santa Eugènia, Vila-roja, Vilablareix, Quart, Salt I Castell Platja d’Aro will host, between Thursday 18thand Saturday 20th, near 200 basketball games of U16, U14 and U12 boys and girls.
As always, the Girona Basket stands out for the presence of several international clubs and this season will receive teams from as far as nine different countries such as Oostende (Belgium), Ulm (Germany), Zalgiris (Lithuania), Oaklands Wolves (Great Britain), Inter Bratislava (Slovakia), New Heroes and Celeritas-Donar (Netherlands), PSSA (Dubai), YISCA (Kenya) and Sparta Praga (Czech Republic). Spanish teams such as Valladolid, Tabirako or San Viator and several Catalan teams will complete the Costa Brava Girona Basket 2019 bracket.
Nonetheless, the Easter basketball show will start a few days earlier with the second edition of the TOP European. After the success of its debut last year, the tournament will gather the top European basketball teams in Platja d’Aro, between April 14thand 17th. The contestants will be two academies from Euroleague teams, another two great European clubs, a national team and an American high school. Four teams that took part in last year’s edition will repeat this season: FC Barcelona, the Czech Republic national team, the finalist Apollo Amsterdam and the current champion, the Sabonis BC academy that will participate under the name of Zalgiris Kaunas. The novelties are Ratiopharm Ulm, prevailing Girona Basket’s champion, and the US high school Palm Beach Gardens Starzz from the state of Florida.
The Czech center of Spar Citylift Girona, Julia Reisingerova attended yesterday’s presentation event hosted in Castell Platja d’Aro city council and will be the face of both tournaments.