The Pérez Rincón. Mario, Marco, and Martina. A Torrejón family, who also play basketball and has been developed at the Torrejón Basketball Academy. Mario Pérez is in his second season in the EBA League with Zentro Basket, with the Sun Chlorella Dragons, while Marco was the X factor of the Junior A, with a great season in the Madrid Basketball Federation Special. Martina? The young girl from Cadet A, a squad that had great results in this 2022-2023 season, coached by our beloved Agustín Sánchez. In summary, blue and yellow tint since we were little and a source of pride for us.

We talked with Mario (2001), the eldest of the three, who is full of praise about what the city, basketball and TBS represent to his life and that of his younger brothers.

"The truth is that basketball in my family along with soccer have been the most important sports, which is why my brothers and I have soaked up basketball from a very young age. Although we all started playing soccer when we were little, I think the switching to basketball was very beneficial. For my brother, I think that seeing how I performed at a good level in basketball made him change sports at the same age as me and I think it was the right decision, although in football too It was pretty good."

From the change from playing a sport 11 against 11 on the fields, to 5 against 5 on the court and with the hands:

"When I switched to basketball, it was a very risky decision because I changed my friends, the way I played, the physical intensity, etc., and I think that taking that step towards something good and being able to talk about it with my brother has been beneficial for him, since he was not going blindly like I did. In the end I believe that the mission of an older brother is to pave the way for the little brothers and make the steps they take safer and I think that in this case it has been exactly like that " .

Training at Torrejón Basketball Academy, the catapult and his best memories and seasons:

"In TBS I have very good memories. In the end, all the years except one in which I have played basketball have been in Torrejón, so most of my best moments have been here. If I had to keep one, although It is quite difficult, it would be the Junior Second Year season 18-19 in which we formed a very good group of local players who had been playing together and being friends for many years, which made the victories sweeter and the defeats much less bitter. Besides, we did a good job throughout the year, qualifying for the Playoffs without playing in the preliminary phase and also competing against a generation of Estudiantes and Real Madrid that were very good".

"The game we played, apart from the results, was of a very high quality and intelligence, which is why I loved playing. Also, over the years, in my penultimate year in Torrejón I had a year that personally was not good because, I was returning from a ACL injury that took a long time to recover, which meant that I could not adapt 100% to the game, even so, for the TBS National Senior it was a spectacular year, reaching the Final Four and competing throughout the year, although it was not my best year we were also able to get the Under-22 title that made the bad year on a personal level with Nacional compensated with that victory".

The structure at Joaquín Blume, the organization chart and the processes as well as results:

"Well, I think that the technical level of Torrejón Basketball Academy is excellent, most of the coaches that I have come across in my sports stage have been of a human quality that is quite difficult to find in other teams. Since my first 2 coaches in Cadet from Segundo, Manu and Juan who introduced me to the sport, until later Gonzalo and Jorge with whom I exploded as a player. If I had to stay with any of them, it would be with these last two, since in the end they have been the ones who have marked my life the most, my sports career, since I spent 4 years practicing with them and they have been the ones I have learned the most from. Each one of them had their strengths and I think they both complemented each other in a way that made progress as a player very easy both in the purely technical part as well as the emotional and psychological part of basketball. I do not think I could focus on a teaching as such that I remember, since there were so many that it is impossible to stay with one, although it is true that I think I learned much more from the emotional part of basketball than the purely technical part, which is more important to me".

Leaving Torrejón and going up the stairs to Liga EBA, playing against professionals:

The jump to EBA to be honest, has been what I expected. I was lucky that many ex-colleagues and friends had already competed in this category and they had told me about the greater physical demand that the competition requires, which is one of the main changes and the one that you can notice the most as a rookie player. I think my season at Zentro has been quite good and it has gone hand in hand with that of the team, a first phase where it was difficult for us to find ourselves as a team since we were all new and we did not know each other much either, which made the start difficult, From there, the truth is that when we found the way, everything went smoothly and in the end the quality of the players has seen the light".

"As we are new and young players, it was difficult for us, but the finish has been great, finishing in the top 7 in the competition and beating all the teams except two, at least once, and ending a winning streak that seemed as if the season would have lasted one more month, we were heading for the Playoffs. At the end of the season and taking stock, I think that the EBA category has raised the level compared to previous years and that is good for the competition, however I think that a high-level player in the First National I could play without problem in EBA, where I think the most difficult jump is from EBA, the LEB categories are the ones with the highest level of demand within Spanish basketball. It is also important to mention that at the same time that The physical level in the league evolves, the level of training and the number of training sessions evolves, so, making special mention of Zentro, it has made it much easier for me to adapt, having at my disposal a large number of both professionals and facilities They have made the transition so much easier.

What should Mario improve at this stage, to continue evolving and climbing the professional ladder of Spanish basketball?

I always ask myself this question every preseason and I try to work on it. The truth is that being a player who started competing so late, the part of the game that is most difficult for me is all the technical part, both handling the ball, 1 against 1 or shooting from three, which I think are the aspects of the game that I should pay more attention to improve. The good thing about my game is that I am quite clear about what I have to do to improve it and I believe that with good specific work I can become the best version of myself. Apart from what I mentioned, I think that the physical part is also something that I have to pay attention to, although this worries me less because I think that this part is a natural development of the players, based on experience and the passage of time. I believe that the physique of a player, with a little attention and care, always evolves for the better, so this part does not worry me. What benefits me in this aspect is that the part of the game that I have developed the most are qualities that most players do not have yet, so that makes me a different player and that you do not see much in EBA, in these categories I What you see the most are very physical players who still have not managed to adapt to the tactical and mental part of the game, which is most important to me, which makes the defects visible at first glance.

"Besides, the super specialist players are also easy to detect and the scouting work that the teams do at these levels is very good, so the defense is organized around one player and if he does not have an exceptional game you can make a good defense. For all these reasons, I believe that my style of play, although it is not outstanding and spectacular, is difficult to detect and I can overcome all the difficulties of the game".