ESBA Promo Championship in Liepaja was the highlight of the year for the European Seniors Basketball Association. The championship in the Latvian seaside town was the inaugural event of ESBA and featured eighteen teams from different countries competing in eight age categories, as well as a plethora of other activities – both on and off the court.
Participants were met with a breathtaking opening ceremony, which included elements of folk and modern dance and music in addition to the official introduction of the teams.
However, world-class names like Arvydas Sabonis and Šarūnas Marčiulionis stole the show in Liepaja, as a team made up from Lithuania’s golden 1964-born generation players participated in an exhibition game against a select team of the ESBA Promo Championship participants.
Although neither Sabonis, nor Marčiulionis stepped on the court, they were greeted with the loudest cheers, as former Lithuanian stars went on to defeat their opponents 51-45 in a friendly-spirited and fun game.
The game was refereed by FIBA Golden Whistle recipient Romualdas Brazauskas, who was a participant of the championship himself at the M50+ age category.
In terms of the official competition, Lithuanian teams won the most medals, winning in five of the eight different categories.
Impeka from Mažeikiai lifted the crown in the M40+ category, Patvanka from Kaunas celebrated gold in the M45+ category, Salilita from Vilnius won the M55+ category, while Sakret LT triumphed in the M60+ category. The only Lithuanian team Svaja finished first in the W40+ category.
The three other categories were won by Russian teams – Raviollo from Saint Petersburg was the best in the M50+ category, CSKA veterans from Moscow impressively swept all younger teams to claim the M65+ category, as the North-West Amateur Basketball League team from Saint Petersburg topped the W35+ category.
However, the competition did not end there. Participants of the championship also competed in the 3×3 tournament and the 3-point shoot-out contest, with three different categories in each of them. Furthermore, the ESBA Promo Championship also featured educational and social activities.
Vice-Rector for Sport at the Lithuanian Sports University Aleksas Stanislovaitis gave a lecture on the technologies of physical development of mature adults and seniors drew a solid reception and received exceptional feedback.
As the championship in Latvia happened to fall right during Latvia’s biggest summer celebration Jāņi, all participants gathered right on the seaside at the Red Sun Buffet for a nice get-together evening.
Following the Promo Championship in Latvia, the right to host the 1st ESBA Championship was awarded to Antalya and it is already clear that the event will be significantly bigger than the inaugural championship in Liepaja.
The upcoming championship in Turkey, which will take place on June 13-20 of 2015, will have more teams, more big names, stronger competition and, like in Liepaja, top quality facilities.
Participants of the 1st ESBA Championship are offered an all-inclusive tournament package, which includes not only accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), participation fee, but also the use of various facilities at the complex, as well as other useful perks.
We are trying to make your stay in Antalya as comfortable as possible and the all-inclusive package allows you to leave your wallet and all your worries at home.
Team registration is still open and teams who register and complete the payment until January 16, 2015 will get a €50 discount per person for the all-inclusive tournament package.
