Tenerife Wheelchair Basketball Team Overturns Penalty, Secures Super League Promotion
Tenerife's Adein Wheelchair Basketball team secured a Super League promotion after a successful appeal against a penalty, overcoming initial setbacks and preparing for top-tier competition despite a tight schedule.
A Rollercoaster Ride with a Happy Ending: Tenerife Wheelchair Basketball Team Promoted!
Santa Cruz Adein Tenerife Fundación CB Canarias is celebrating! They've officially joined the Wheelchair Basketball Super League, the top league in Spain.
This good news follows months of uncertainty, appeals, and a final decision that changes everything for the Tenerife team.
The Spanish Sports Federation for People with Disabilities recently announced the team's promotion. This came after the club successfully appealed a penalty related to a player issue from last season.
Adein had finished as runner-up in the First Division, earning a promotion on the court. However, this was taken away after a complaint involving Colombian player Jhoan Sebastián Peña. Now, the team has regained the points that were removed and secured their rightful place in the Super League.
Ana Magali Rodríguez Palmero, the president and one of the founders of Adein Tenerife, is relieved and "very emotional." She remembers being "a little hesitant" about appealing, but she believed they would ultimately win. She highlights the unfair situation of Sebas, who was left stranded in Valencia by his previous club, leading to his sanction. The obvious injustice motivated the club to fight back. "If we knew we did nothing wrong, we had to fight," she said. And they were right.
The TAD's decision means Adein gets the promotion they've been waiting for. However, it also means a lot of work needs to be done quickly. The team was initially preparing for the First Division and didn't expect to be in the Super League this season. With only a couple of weeks before their first game on November 1st against Mideba Extremadura, and with the player market mostly closed, the team will be competing in the top league with a smaller squad.
Despite the challenges, Rodríguez Palmero remains positive. "I'm quite optimistic. I think we're going to do something important and something good," she said. Their main goal is to stay in the league. Tino Padrón, a key figure in the club, will be the head coach this season, with Gilberto Mendoza as his assistant. They'll be working with a close-knit group of players: Benito, Zebensuí, Cristian, Alejandro, Parra, Chichirita, Ramón, Domingo, Jonay, and José Manuel. The most significant addition to the team is Federico López Rodríguez, a Colombian international and Peña's teammate.
While the promotion is a cause for celebration, the situation with Jhoan Sebastián Peña is still a concern for the club. "He's disheartened," the president admitted. "It was his first year away from Colombia, and he was so excited." She also expressed her dismay at how he was treated, highlighting his difficult living situation after being "abandoned" by his former club.
Peña is currently serving a three-year ban from playing. Adein is appealing this decision to the TAD, hoping to overturn what they believe is an excessive punishment. "Hopefully, it will be a positive outcome," Rodríguez Palmero said. "This case makes me even more anxious because it's not about money or health, but about a young man's career."