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CE Europa (basketball)

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Club Esportiu Europa
Club Esportiu Europa logo
NicknameEuropeistes
Escapulats
Graciencs
Founded8 December 1922; 101 years ago (1922-12-08)
Dissolved1931
LocationVila de Gràcia, Barcelona
Catalonia, Spain
Team colorsWhite, blue
   
Championships2 Catalan Championship
Websiteceeuropa.cat

The basketball section of CE Europa was one of the sections of the Catalan football club CE Europa, dedicated to the practice of basketball. The team was founded in 1922, participated in the first official basketball match in Catalonia, and won two early Catalan Championships, becoming of the pioneers of basketball in Spain.[1] The basketball section of CE Europa, just like all other sections apart from football, disappeared in 1931 after a severe crisis at the club.

On 8 December 1922, CE Europa and Laietà BC participated in the first basketball match disputed in Spain.[2] The match, played at the Camp del Carrer de Sicília of CE Europa, generated interest in the American sport among many local people and finished with the result of 8–2 in favor of CE Europa. CE Europa was one of the strongest basketball teams in Catalonia in the 1920s, winning the Catalan Championship in 1924 and 1926.

In the 1920s, CE Europa was the second sports club in Catalonia with the most members (around 6,000), only behind FC Barcelona, and was a club with many different practices, including football, athletics, rugby, basketball, and hockey.

One hundred years after the creation of the basketball section of CE Europa and the historic game against Laietà BC, the history of the basketball section was commemorated in 2022 with a documentary and a book.[3][4]

History

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Basketball team of CE Europa in the 1920s.
Basketball team of CE Europa in the 1920s.

Origins, golden era, and dissolution (1922-1931)

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In the beginning of the 1920s, Catalan society experienced a growing interest in sports, both regarding practicing it and attending sports events. One of the sports that started to develop in this period was basketball, introduced in Catalonia by Eusebio Millán, who had discovered the sport during his stay in Cuba.[5] After a having learned basic basketball rules, Millán organised a first basketball match on the 8th of December 1922 between two of the first basketball teams in Barcelona, Laietà BC and CE Europa.[6] The latter team won this match by 8–2, and its players were Pérez, Julià, Barquens, Xavier, Palom, Brunet, and García, while the coach was Boris Catalán.[7][8]

Nevertheless, basketball was played much differently then in the 21st century: matches were disputed in football stadiums, the baskets were put on top of the football goals, and there were seven players per team (until 1927 it were only five). Another way to notice the amateurism of basketball in the 1920s was through the first line-up of CE Europa, given that it included two players of its football team (Xavier and Julià) and one player from the athletics section (Barquens).

Still, the match was lived with such excitement that CE Europa, together with other teams, started to consider the possibility to dispute a Catalan championship. After resolving some minor problems, the first Catalan basketball championship was disputed in April 1923, with the following teams: American Stars, Barcelona, Catalunya, Espanyol, Europa, La France, Laietà, and Patrie.[9] The teams of Barcelona and Espanyol were not related to the contemporary FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. The first champion of Catalonia was Patrie.

One year later, in 1924, CE Europa was proclaimed champion of Catalonia after beating FC Martinenc 14–9.[10] Its team consisted of the following players: Moncho, Compte, Lagarriga, Font, Ribas, and Palom. Because of the success of the championship, the league was divided into two groups after the second edition. The winner of the 1925 edition would FC Martinenc, while CE Europa's team was formed by Arau, Comas, Font, García, Lagarriga, Monjo, Palom, and Ribas.[11]

In 1926, CE Europa won the Catalan championship for the second time, beating FC Martinenc again in the final.[12] The players of this season were Cisco, Brunet, Lagarriga, Moncho, García, Ribas, Palom, Font, and Comas. In December 1927, the club constructed fields that were exclusively dedicated to basketball, adapted to the norms of that era. One year later, on 20 October 1928, CE Europa inaugurated new pitches that were even more modern and with a higher capacity than the previous ones.[13]

Due to the growth of basketball in Catalonia and the entrance of new teams to the competition, CE Europa's potential diminished, while the club itself also entered an economic crisis in 1931, leading to the dissolution of the basketball section.[14]

A tribute in the form of a mural to women playing basketball at CE Europa, based on a picture from 1929, in the Nou Sardenya.
A tribute in the form of a mural to women playing basketball at CE Europa, based on a picture from 1929, in the Nou Sardenya.

Women's team (1929-1930)

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During the celebration of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, CE Europa formed a women's team that would participate in a tournament within the exposition.[15] Its players were Maria Lluïsa Doallo, Dolors Martínez, Maria Navarro, Josefa Roca, and Àngela Martínez. They won their first game by 18–0 against Tiberghien, but finished the tournament in third place. There is no evidence of the dispute of more matches of CE Europa's women's basketball team after the finalization of the exposition in 1930.

Recovery of the basketball section (2007-2009)

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Only in the 21st century, concretely in 2007, the year of the club's centenary, CE Europa recovered its basketball section, with Joan Padró as coach.[16] The team played in the Creueta del Coll and achieved promotion to the Segona Catalana in 2008. The basketball team would not compete for much longer and was dissolved in 2009.[17]

Creation of an esports team (2021-)

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In 2021, CE Europa announced the creation of a subsection of its esports section: virtual basketball.[18] The team participates in the videogames of the NBA 2K series at the PlayStation 5 in the ProAm mode.[19]

Season to season

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Trajectory in the Catalan basketball championship

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  • 1923: Catalan Championship: -
  • 1924: Catalan Championship: 1st
  • 1925: Catalan Championship: 2nd
  • 1926: Catalan Championship: 1st
  • 1927: Catalan Championship: 3rd
  • 1928: Catalan Championship: 4th
  • 1929: Catalan Championship: 6th
  • 1930: Catalan Championship: 5th
  • 1931: Catalan Championship: 3rd

Trophies

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vergés i Soler 2009, p. 360.
  2. ^ "Es juga el primer partit de bàsquet a Catalunya". ElNacional.cat (in Catalan). 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  3. ^ Redacció. "Presentat el documental commemoratiu del Campionat de Catalunya del 1923 - ceeuropa.cat". www.ceeuropa.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  4. ^ Garreta, Àngel. "Presentat el llibre 'Bàsquet, 100 anys' en l'acte de cloenda del centenari - ceeuropa.cat". www.ceeuropa.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  5. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 5.
  6. ^ "Història del Club - ceeuropa.cat". www.ceeuropa.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  7. ^ "El primer partit de bàsquet de l'estat espanyol". beteve.cat (in Catalan). 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  8. ^ "Europa-Laietà: un partido histórico el 8 de diciembre de 1922". FEB (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  9. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 12.
  10. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 14.
  11. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 17.
  12. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 19.
  13. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 27.
  14. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 37.
  15. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 34.
  16. ^ "PADRÓ: "A L'EUROPA TENIM UNA MOLT BONA BASE DE JUGADORS" - ceeuropa.cat". www.ceeuropa.cat. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  17. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 2009.
  18. ^ Garreta, Àngel. "L'Europa estrena secció de bàsquet als eSports - ceeuropa.cat". www.ceeuropa.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  19. ^ Vidal i Buyé 2022, p. 39.
  20. ^ "CE Europa · Dades generals i Palmarès - ceeuropa.cat". www.ceeuropa.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2024-09-02.

Bibliography

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  • Borchers, Liam (2024). The Story of Europa: A Unique Football Club from Catalonia. Groningen: Self-published. ISBN 978-9-0903-8388-0.
  • Vergés i Soler, Ramon (2009). Història d'un històric: CE Europa (1907–2007) [History of an historic club: CE Europa (1907–2007)] (in Catalan). Barcelona: Club Esportiu Europa and Municipality of Barcelona. ISBN 978-84-9850-163-6. DL B-21.803.2009.
  • Vidal i Buyé, Xavier (2022). Bàsquet, 100 anys [Basketball, 100 years] (PDF) (in Catalan). Club Esportiu Europa.
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