A title that was hard-won and is now being savored

The ORT basketball team has won 14 local and international intercollegiate tournaments; however, the University Basketball League trophy had eluded them. This year, the effort that began with the first practices in the heat of February culminated in the championship title. Despite the significance of this achievement, the team, the coaching staff, and the Sports Coordination remain humble and are already preparing to face the challenge of defending their title in 2011.

This was evident in interviews with team captain Sergio Jaurena, Head Coach Alfredo Russo, and the Coordinator of Social and Sports Activities, Mag. Mario Matalonga.

Jaurena recounted that when the regular league games ended, the ORT team had to face—in the playoffs—the Olimar squad, which had defeated ORT in both championship games. Whoever won two games—in a best-of-three series—would advance to the next phase. The first game ended in a victory for Olimar, while ORT won the second. In the third game, Russo’s team secured the win with a two-run hit after two extra innings, which those interviewed considered the toughest moment of the championship. The final series against Trouville also required a best-of-three series.

The vast majority of the players completed their seventh consecutive season with the team in 2010. "We have a group—many of whom are friends—with very strong character," explained Jaurena, a graduate in Marketing Analysis. The coach also completed his seventh consecutive season, which makes him feel “grateful and proud.” According to the captain, ORT basketball provides an opportunity for students from different majors and faculties to get to know one another—students who might otherwise never have met.

The graduate highlighted that the team’s main achievement is having won the 14 intercollegiate championships they competed in over 7 years. They also won the first Jorge Gordon Taylor Cup, organized by the University of San Andrés in Buenos Aires, and secured two runner-up finishes in the UNISINOS Cup in Brazil “against two strong teams from São Paulo,” as the captain recalled.

In the coach’s opinion, “the goal, in terms of sports, is to win every championship we compete in, but the key is to keep this group that has been working together for several years and add new members.” When asked to describe his players, he doesn’t hesitate: “It’s a team that gives its all both on and off the field, which is essential for the group to stay together and grow year after year. In fact, many players who, for various reasons, stop playing, still follow the team at games and also at the meals or meetings we hold," he noted.

Matalonga announced that in 2011, training will begin in mid-February to ensure the team is at a high competitive level for the first tournament of the year. "In addition to this title, we have to defend the one we won in the Intercollegiate Tournament. Therefore, it will be a difficult but not impossible sporting year, and the team is highly motivated," he reflected.

The team is "very grateful" to the university because "we believe we represent it well both on and off the court; just as the university gives us what we need." That is why representing it on the court creates a sense of belonging, which makes ORT "a very important symbol for us," the captain concluded.

The team

Álvarez, Fernando - Caputi, Mateo - Dufau, Damián - Fernández, Rodrigo –

Freiganes, Darwin - Gelos, José - Jaurena, Sergio - Lebel, Alejandro -

Lopez, Martin - Navarrete, Fernando - Ordiera, Alejandro - Pieri, Gabriel -

Riezler, Nicolás - Rocha, Federico - Roses, Marcelo - Sequeira, Santiago -

Soto, Adrián - Wilkins, Guillermo.

Interview published in December 2010