Eurobasket champion silent leader Alberto Diaz

Alberto Diaz, Malaga point guard for Unicaja and Spain’s EuroBasket 2022 champion, is a respected figure in the basketball world. For both his performances in tournaments and the story of inspiration: from joining at the last minute due to Llull’s injury, to appearing in plays remembered for the most creditable work accomplished by Scariolo’s team. .

Alberto Diaz Ortiz (Málaga, 1994) is an ordinary man who crosses borders as the hero of Spain’s new European conquest. He is 1’88 meters tall and points his guard, already he was a well-established player in the ACB League. But now that he’s decided to stand out in EuroBasket, at the age of 28, all of Europe is talking about the red-haired captain of Unikaha.

His success in this historic European campaign harvested by ‘La Familia’ is no accident, despite the fact that Diaz remained on the final list due to Sergio Llull’s unfortunate injury. Sergio Scagliolo relied on a completely different player profile as he transitioned from Mallorcan scoring prowess to Malaga claws and team spirit.

Scariolo knew this better than anyone and Diaz was intelligent on the track and had an unmatched hunger for competition. he knew how to take advantage of the opportunities that fate gave him And he went from playing a purely defensive role in the rotation to monopolizing time in the most crucial moments of the tournament, as important as the shot that ended the victory over France with two minutes remaining. I shot.

Europe began to turn their attention to the redhead, who was born in the Carretera de Cádiz district, a working-class neighborhood in the capital of Malaga, against Shane Larkin’s Turkey, who caused a decisive loss of the ball in the final seconds. .

In the round of 16 against Lithuania, he continued to show what a routine he had in Karpena and fouled in attack.: Against his former youth teammate and now NBA star Domantas Sabonis, he knew how to drive him crazy at times.

In the semi-final against Germany, he committed an offensive foul on Schroederhe left without scoring for the final seven minutes of the game, shortly after an NBA point guard made a mocking gesture at him after a layup.

I didn’t want to stand out in the final against France, but I won it with my hands, He maintained his level defensively with the strength he applied against top-level players like Thomas Huertel and Andrew Albisyand to that defensive luxury, he added some decisive triples and also showed courage and efficiency in attack (88% on two shots during Eurobasket, 83% on free kicks, 40 on triples). %).

Diaz is more of an intangibles expert than a player with breakthrough stats. Opposite errors, stealing the ball, fouls on attack or certain shots, stopping and bouncing as soon as receiving, covering, releasing or penetrating the hoop.

His numbers at Eurobasket are 5.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists with a PIR of 6.7. Showing his importance on the court with 16.8 minutes played, Spain are balancing him with +52 on the court.

leader since childhood

At the Spanish Cadet Championship, Diaz was one of the best players in the Andalusian team. He won that year and his coach in the lower category, Francis Tomé, said his assistant would go to his room and flirt with girls from the other team at the hotel where his players were staying. He said he told him he was doing it.

“And who is in charge here?‘, Tome said, getting very angry with the young players and waiting for them to say that of course it was him, so he asked if he could tell them to stop flirting and focus on basketball. . But to that rhetorical question, all the players answered “Alberto”, referring to Diaz.

I was a born leader from an early age.people who knew him and were trained as Tome who had him at Rincon Clinic, a subsidiary of Typesetter at the time, say. He was a scorer, penetrator and playmaker who “made the triple we needed.”

As the body changes over time and as the categories progress, Diaz has established himself as a defender willing to lead his team from behindthe personality and leadership of being named MVP of the Eurocup final at the age of 22, that of Unicaha’s comeback against Valencia basket in 2017.

10 years with the ACB, more than 350 matches in the Euroleague, Eurocup and FIBA ​​Champions League, Leader of Unikaha in turbulent years like the last two, he was always the most regular on the team. His recognition on a global scale lagged behind, lacking stages like Eurobasket.

Coming back from Germany with a gold medal doesn’t change his humility. A boy who always puts his studies first, he already has a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Salamanca.Didactic Programming and Competence in Digital Education Courses, and Level 1 Basketball Coach.

As a born worker, I don’t have much time this week to absorb my accomplishments.on Friday we have Carpena who receives it with the highest applause, as he should be the soul of Unicaja trying not to fail in the qualifying stages of the FIBA ​​Champions League.

“If they told me this before going to Tbilisi, I would tell him he’s crazy. That’s the beauty of this. People live in dreams,” he said after the final. He said… Believe it or not, he had already gathered his belongings a few weeks before going out, and “he wasn’t 100% fit,” Scaglioro warned. .

That call changed his life, Eurobasket ‘changed his life’ And his outstanding performance has earned him the limelight and, with permission, a shower of admiration and recognition for the red-haired redhead from the Unikaja Youth Academy, which commands the respect of all basketball.