She was the first Spanish player to do so.
She took the opportunity to dedicate this recognition to four of the people who are most important to her; among them Elisa Aguilar, competition director of the FEB and her amazing friend and partner.
As of this Wednesday, former Spain international Amaya Valdemoro has become the first Spanish player to be inducted into FIBA’s Hall of Fame, according to the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB).
In an emotional ceremony in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, Valdemoro honored several great figures in world basketball history, including Penny Taylor (Australia), Yuko Oga (Japan), Katrina McClain (USA) and Wlamir Marques (Brazil), Yao Ming (China), Liem Tjien Siong / Sonny Hendrawan (Indonesia), Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano (Angola), Carlos Loyzaga (Philippines) and Zurab Sakandelidze (Georgia), posthumously.
The former Madrid player, who has played in four World Cups with the senior team, took the opportunity to dedicate this recognition to four of the people who are most important to her; among them Elisa Aguilar, competition director of the FEB and her amazing friend and partner.
“I dedicate this award to four people. My coach Miki Vukovic, who was a benchmark for me and who believed in me the most. Elisa, with whom I have known since I was 13 and who I have spent a lifetime as a sport and as a friend related to her, with whom we have shared very important moments. And of course I also dedicate it to my father and mother, who are no longer with us, and to all my family, who have always supported me. I lost my bond with my mother at the age of 18 and my father is the person who has been the most supportive and has without a doubt been the MVP of my life,” he said.
Valdemoro took the opportunity to pay tribute and thank former coach María Planas, “a seminal coach in women’s basketball” who was able to experience the same emotion a year ago when she became the first Spanish woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
