Cristina Cantero: “We fought a lot and the year when you least expected it, you got it”

Cristina Cantero Ostos (Cabra, Córdoba, 1978) will go down in history as the coach who returned to Celtic in the elite of women’s basketball eleven years later and after an arduous desert journey. A day after the promotion celebration, Cantero highlights the atmosphere of the pavilion Cheers as a fundamental factor for the team to overcome difficult times and win the two games leading up to Women’s League while he commented that it was the year in which the category jump was least expected. From this long journey, it is emphasized that the club supported the project by maintaining its own features, which he hopes to realize upon his return to the elite. does not hide his desire to continue on the bench.

“How are things the day after the promotion?”

—You respond to messages and understand what happened through them. What was experienced in Navija was an accumulation of everything: the atmosphere, the emotion of the game, the crowded pavilion and the way people experienced it. You left Navia and met the parents of the children of the quarry and some of them wept with emotion. It was a blast. On the sports front, we are very happy, because this is what we have been fighting for for years, and maybe in the year when you least expect it, you get it. We were doing well, but we weren’t the favourites.

— Was playing the domestic phase crucial for advancement?

“Honestly, I think so. We discussed this with the professional staff on Sunday. Since there were two away games, we didn’t win them, that’s the feeling we have. Pavilion pushed hard in bad moments. We talked about whether the midfield would force the young players, and it was the opposite, the pavilion pushed them and we had two of the most effective matches abroad.

— He judged a triple recital for two days.

“Especially the first day. The victory over Alcobendas required something special and it was. Shooting 15 for 25 isn’t easy, but we’d see the rim as a pool. And in the final, Regina had an incredible last quarter.

— The critical moment was the third quarter of the final?

-That. I knew we would have the finishing touch, because I saw them tired, but in came Flórez, a born competitor with a lot of talent and bloodshot eyes. I said to myself: ‘Bad job’, because we didn’t stop him well. I could see he was annoyed, but they took four tenancy points and we responded with a three that gave us a composure point.

—When did you see the winning game and promotion in your pocket?

—When there were 40 seconds left and they threw in the towel.

What does advancement mean to you on a personal level?

— I feel proud of myself, of those of us who are in Navija every day. The people who were in the pavilion every day, the two Carlos (Álvarez, the president and Colinas, the sports director), who work diligently, and the people from the board of directors who do the obscure work that is not seen.

—Did you have a trip of 11 years in another category?

— Not so long, but sport is like that. When you rebuild yourself, it’s a long process if you want to do things right, and we haven’t forgotten who we are and how we like to do things and maintain our identity along the way. Even after many years in the second division, we were a nationally recognized club, we did not stop being a big club, with all that that means, not only at the sports level.

“And now a radical change awaits you.”

—Now you have to take a few days of air, but you have to make an effort, because the change is very big. What I have in mind is that there will be a lot of changes, because the league requires you to, but you have to maintain the entity and do things well. We will try to make the best possible squad and then devote ourselves to work and competition.

— Will it be a coach in the women’s league?

— I hope so, but we will have to sit down with the president (laughter).