Francis Alonso, a Malaga native from Bilbao
Francisco Fernando Alonso Martínez laughs when he is hesitant about where his eight Basque surnames are. Since he is a pro from Malaga, just like Dani Rovira, the actor from the well-known film, and he is in Euskadi, “some joke has already fallen on me”. In his case, he landed with his parents and in the near future his girlfriend will come. Malaga and Seville launch piques similar to those of Bilbao and San Sebastián. “I have many friends from Seville whom I love very much, it is true that there is a rivalry, but for my part I do not influence it,” says Francis, the shooting guard who has signed for Bilbao Basket after leaving his beloved Unicaja.
Alonso is delighted in Euskadi. Of course, he has not yet submerged in the Bay of Biscay, where the waters remain at a pleasant 22 degrees. “I was on the coast with my parents and it was more for a walk and coffee, but let’s go, I dare without a problem,” he says. “They are treating me very well, I am eager to start and continue learning about this culture”, he reveals on Radio Bilbao without letting go of his eternal smile. “I try to keep positivity and be cheerful; It is not known if that is worth anything, but I try at all times to help others”. You already know something in Basque: “Egun on (good morning), kaixo (hello) and agur (goodbye)”. His first steps in the city of the Guggenheim left him quite perplexed: “I came with my parents, we came out from enduring a lot of sun and we thought we were going to cool, but it turned out that there was a heat wave.” In addition, he enjoyed the madness of the parties in the Biscayan capital, where there is not even an hour of truce. “I take the experience of living them with my parents, now I want my girlfriend to come and show her what my classmates have taught me.”
Francis is not a player to use, someone who grows in a quarry and perpetuates himself until he retires. At the age of 17, he packed his suitcase and went to the United States. The only. For five years. “I needed a challenge, something new, for someone who wants to reach a professional level, combining studies and sports is complicated. The last year at Unicaja had been difficult for me, with three competitions, plus selectivity”, he details. In a fortuitous action he suffered a blow to the head from Tautvydas Sabonis, one of the sons of Arvydas, and they were unable to play for several months. “I saw that I had to leave, I don’t regret it, it’s the best experience I’ve ever had,” he refreshes. Of course, his arrival in the United States was not a bed of roses. I barely knew English “and I had a fair time”, although “for a person of that age, having self-confidence helps to overcome these obstacles”.
He first went through the Cushing Academy Institute. He then went to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He began to show himself as an accomplished scorer and a relentless shooter. He always had to bear the label of being a scorer, “but it doesn’t bother me, this is a game and it amuses me, I consider myself a very ambitious boy, I always try to improve.” A pride for a family that loves basketball. In fact, as a child he had a basket in the kitchen, on a column in the middle of that room. He starred in more than one domestic accident with his shots “and some anger took me”, he is honest.
In the United States we discover all those themes that sneak into American college basketball movies, that is, the king and queen of the prom and all the paraphernalia that surrounds that ceremony. “That’s real, and other stuff you don’t see in the movies,” she laughs mischievously. More seriously, he clarifies that “there the environment surrounding basketball is very different from the European mentality, in the NBA or the university league people are going to enjoy, like here with a play, it doesn’t matter if the team loses by 30, they are just as happy.”
His brothers also play basketball. And his father, Paco, is a Malaga institution. He was a Caja de Ronda player for more than five years, in all categories of Spanish basketball, and even spent two years at Maristas. When he retired, he trained the team, directed it in the ACB, in two stages and in a total of 14 duels, until in 2003 he went to the quarry. In total, 35 years linked to Unicaja. “I always try to get him to help me, sometimes it has been difficult to have a father coach, to separate the two facets… sometimes asking him to be more of a father than a coach or vice versa, but they are people who know the game, like my brother, and you have to take advantage of it”. When Paco trained, the kid accompanied him and he stayed with his brother on an auxiliary track. Once Unicaja had finished working, the legendary Berni Rodríguez and Carlos Cabezas shot some baskets with the kid. Many summers, his father managed LEB Oro and quarry players. And Francis with 8 and 9 years treated meters in those groups to learn. “What Carlos and Berni taught me is priceless, it was a pride to be with them”. In fact, the base left him his historic number 10 number before he was retired at Carpena. In such an athletic family, his mother also claims a place, as a dance teacher, a life always linked to dance.
Francis grew a ponytail a couple of years ago. “We were confined by the pandemic, for two months at home I was bored and I said to myself: what do we do? Well, he left me with a ponytail; as soon as summer came, to cut”. Francis loves all sports. “Tennis, boxing, paddle tennis, soccer… everything works for me, except cycling, which, yes, comes in handy for a nap.” Since he was a child, his brothers led him to be a Barça fan, but that passion disappeared when he emigrated to the United States, “now I like any game, I loved the atmosphere at San Mamés the other day”. in fact, He is so integrated that he attended Athletic-Valencia (1-0) and “I thought it was great, because we won”.
To continue advancing in her career, the Malaga escort has had to overcome several setbacks. In the 2019-20 season, a positive for COVID-19 prevented him from reaching the Final Phase of the League in Valencia. The 2020-21 season was very good and then the call came from the Spanish team, with which she had already attended in lower categories. He feels very comfortable in Bilbao, although it is a city that has little to do with the landscape and climate of the capital of the Costa del Sol. “The passion that is palpable with basketball is unique, not many cities have that kind of find such involved people”. His motto in Miribilla is clear and direct: “I want to help win, it means everything to me, as for any team, club and city, Bilbao has that spirit that I love so much and I would like to help”. And he insists: “My mission is to win and at an individual level, recover sensations with the ball, help direct at times as a point guard”, since in his career he has been between one-two,
In the locker room he has met players he knows well from playing against them many times, such as Hakanson, Rigo and Rabaseda. With the latter he has coincided in the Selection. And with Reyes, another with a famous father in basketball (former player Miguel Ángel) did it in Oviedo de LEB, another of his teams in Spain. He also wore the colors of Fuenlabrada, where he was on loan in 2019. “It’s lucky to meet and have good chemistry, it will help us connect on the track.” in facthe is surprised by the good harmony that there is from so early, and highlights of this Bilbao Basket “the ability to read, the light, dynamic game, he passed us the ball very well… and that has to do with chemistry and knowing each other ”.
Alonso also loves reading, with specific topics. After devouring ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, he has given himself over to other types of books. “I read less than I would like, I love biographies, real stories that have happened to people, for example, Agassi’s book, it serves as motivation, because of the way he sees life.” And as for the song of the summer, he releases it, not without first thinking about it for a long time: “Neither Rosalía nor Quevedo, ‘Last Last’ by Burna Boy”.
Entering basketball, for the new ‘man in black’ there is no doubt who is the best player he has ever seen: “LeBron, because he has everything. The rivalry with Jordan will always be talked about, but not many people can maintain the level for 20 years and it seems that each season is getting better. Regarding Doncic, he still asks for more time to catalog him, “I hope he continues like this and gets into that conversation, he is very young and can fight LeBron for the throne.” Unfortunately, Luka could not be measured when he was found in Spain. “I was going to do it in a Junior Spanish Championship, in which, by the way, he didn’t play much, but because of the blow to the head, it couldn’t be>”.
Bilbao Basket has left for Porto to play the Paredes tournament, against the Portuguese team (rival at the opening of the preseason on the 27th in Laredo), Sheffield Sharks from England and Budivelnyk kyiv. The locker room was overwhelmed by Goudelock’s serious injury on Saturday. “Injuries frustrate us a lot mentally. It’s very hard and more, because it’s the preseason, when you’re trying to get to know everyone, Drew was eager and motivated, he’s a very tough guy, he’s confident in himself, he’s going to come out of this and I’m sure he’ll soon”. He stands out from his teammate that he has “an innate ability to get into the area and turn around with skill for a shot”, as well as a “great reading in penetration and passing… his career says it all, it’s a shame his loss, hopefully that it is less than the initial forecast, I do not wish something like this on anyone, it will be difficult to replace him”.
He knows his new coach, Ponsarnau, from having coincided with the Under-21 National Team. The main virtue of the Tàrrega coach is that he “connects with the player”. “He is a player coach, he knows how he adapted and took each one, the player notices it”. He is also looking forward to playing the Champions League in Miribilla, “I know what it entails in the calendar, how hard it is, Bilbao needs a double competition to expose itself, this team is very capable of having a good season and can lead a surprise”. Finally, he ventures out for a possible winner of the current Eurobasket. “Primero España” (First Spain), is thrown letting the heart speak, and then give the opinion of the head: “Between Slovenia or Greece it will be.”