Segura and Contell fulfill the dreams of L'Alqueria del Basket

29/10/2021

L'Alqueria del Basket is not just a facility where Valencia Basket's youth teams train and play every day. L'Alqueria del Basket is much more. Hundreds of children cross its threshold with dozens of dreams, passing through the main court of the facility to see the long list of players in the Mur dels Somnis who fulfilled theirs. Many of them debuted with the Valencia Basket men's team and went on to pursue other careers. Others continued to fulfill dreams with the taronja shirt lifting titles as Víctor Luengo or Víctor Claver. Lorena Segura and Claudia Contell, the first women to inscribe their names on this list, are another example that dreams come true and that they go beyond the Mur dels Somnis.

 

Both players were part of the first Spanish title in the history of the club's women's section, winning the LF Endesa Super Cup in September. Last week, the women's team also lifted the SuperCup Women. A game in which Contell did not play, but was part of the squad that was presented at La Fonteta in the final. The same thing happened to Segura in the EuroCup Women title that, although she joined the team in other phases of the competition, did not get to play in the final itself. In any case, both have already premiered their trophy cabinet and, moreover, in taronja.

 

Contell and Segura's first steps in Valencia Basket date back to before L'Alqueria del Basket. The point guard remembers "those years in Malvarrosa at the beginning. Having to take the ball, go to shoot and wait for a team to finish so you could start yourself". Segura agrees and says that "the first day I entered L'Alqueria and saw all these courts was quite impressive". Contell, 17, has enjoyed more time at the facility in her formative stage. "I was lucky enough to play a Spanish Championship here. To live it all with your people and enjoy it with your family, you can't get it just anywhere."

 

When the women’s team was far away, Segura looked to players with whom she now shares a locker room: "Since I was very young, Anna Gómez, being from Valencia, was a reference for me. A little older I saw Laura Gil, Queralt Casas and Cristina Ouviña in the national team. It is a luck and I feel very privileged to be able to share the court with them. You used to see them and say: I hope someday to get to where they are. You said it a bit like a dream and you were not even aware that it could come true. In the end Valencia Basket and L'Alqueria have made those dreams come true".

 

Contell and Segura have fulfilled those dreams. Not only debuting with the first team but also actively lifting titles with it. A fact that undoubtedly increases the number of female references in L'Alqueria. "That there are boys, which did not happen before, who want to be players like us is also a source of pride," says Contell.

 

A lifetime in Valencia Basket gives for many happy moments, but Segura "maybe now because I have it more recent I would stay with the title of the Super Cup because after working so many years, and this summer for example that was very demanding, made me very happy and was like a reward for all the effort". Contell, on the other hand, has "memories of being twice third in Spain in the same year, which was amazing, but I think the best thing I'll keep is being able to debut with the women’s team in Eurocup". In addition to the Spanish Supercup: "To have been able to be part of something like that is a pride".

Segura and Contell have a message for the players of L'Alqueria, who now see in them the 'unattainable' dream that they themselves had: "Enjoy, because if you have enjoyed along the way and have done things well, that's what's important. We have been in youth teams like them and that it can be achieved," said Segura. Contell adds that "keep working. It is the most important thing. You're always going to have stones in the way, but don’t let that stop you from continuing to work and give everything”. 


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