A APD Braga puts Portugal back on the map of European BCR competitions and will make its absolute debut on European stages, on the 26th and 27th of April, in Málaga, in the EuroCup Qualifying Tournament. The Minho emblem becomes the second national team to appear in the official competitions of the IWBF – International Federation of BCR -, after the APD Sintrawhich accumulated seven participations, the last of which was in 2007. The Minho team, the dominant force of the national BCR in the last decade, with a fifth championship in between – between 2015/2016 and 2020/2021 – are part of group B. Ahead, they will have as rivals the host Club Amivelcolossus of the highest level of the Spanish BCR, one of the professional European leagues in the sport, the duo of Italian emblems D-Junior Team Sassari It is signas well as the British Mohawks.
Ricardo Vieiratechnician at APD Braga, addresses sporting expectations in relation to this participation, highlighting that, without neglecting the ambition that characterizes the team, there is an imbalance of forces in relation to some emblems. “From the point of view of sporting results, expectations are not the highest, due to the quality of work carried out by some of the teams we will meet. We don’t have much knowledge of Italian teams, but we know that they master the basics and support other Serie A teams. The English are always well structured. And Amivel has no comparison with other teams, due to the quality he has. We hope to do our best with the Italian teams and show what we can do against the English team, within our physical limitations, taking into account that we have limited or injured athletes”, described the helmsman of Braga.
Ricardo Vieira is at the genesis of the BCR team at APD Bragadictated by the father’s involvement, Carlos Vieiraan indispensable part of the Minho dynamic, in an attempt to provide sports opportunities for his son, Manuel Vieira, player and now president, at the time of his injury. The sustained growth of the project and the increasing frequency of discussing and winning national titles for fifteen years have given rise to an even greater objective: European presence. “This means the realization of a dream, the closing of a cycle. I have told people close to me that this will probably be the first and last European participation of the Ricardo Vieirain front of APD Braga. It was something achieved, the result of a lot of effort from many people who went through APD Braga: João Correia, Carlos Vieirabut there was no need to talk about it, because it has been there since the beginning, it was part of the foundation, Miguel Gonçalves. We are talking about more than a decade of work to be able to hold a Qualifying Tournament”, he explained.
There is another purpose highlighted by the experienced coach that justifies competing in the European competition. “It also serves to honor athletes who have been with us since the beginning, namely the Márcio Diaswho is considering stopping, himself José Miguel Gonçalves, and others who, sooner or later, will stop playing. We want to honor these people and represent Portugal, through the club, in an international competition”.
The group winner guarantees the possibility of playing in the qualification Eurocup 3, in the 2024/2025 season, equivalent to the fourth European BCR competition – there is also Eurocup 2, Eurocup 1 and Champions League. On the first day, April 26th, the APD Braga compete in the opening game of the competition, against the locals Club Amivelat 10:15 am, and reenters the field, at 2:45 pm, to fight with the Mohawks. On the second and final day of the competition, the people from Braga face off against Asinara Basketat 8:00 am, and D-Junior Team Sassari, at 2:45 pm – mainland Portugal time. The tournament will be broadcast online, on a platform to be announced soon.
Note: photography by Miguel Fonseca – @mfportefolio
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