Goodbye and thank you, Titan

Now the team is left with a hole that will not be filled, Gustavo Ayón was, by far, the best player on the team.

Some days ago Gustavo Ayon he officially retired from professional basketball and put an end to the most brilliant career for a national team player in the last 50 years.

the of the Titan It is a story that will not be repeated. Born and raised in little Zapotán, Nayarit, Gustavo Ayon he learned the game and developed with the limited resources that the town offered him. We have to thank Javier Ceniceros, historic coach of the UPAEP eagles his discovery, but even more so his development since high school. Because a talent like Gustavo’s was eventually going to come to light, but it wouldn’t necessarily be as well prosecuted as the coach of the Autonomous of the State of Puebla did. That is where Gustavo began to show that he was different. Even in high school in 2005, the nayarita was the MVP of the national university tournament, in the end he could not play the World University because he was not yet a university student, despite already being the best player at that level.

Unlike the other Mexicans who have reached the NBA, Gustavo Ayon did not go through any phase of the student process in basketball USA. That is unique and unrepeatable. Think about getting to NBA without the formation or the platform of the American collegiate and based on Mexican student basketball, it’s crazy. There is no history nor will we see something similar.

Now the selection is left with a gap that will not be filled, Gustavo Ayon He was by far the best player on the team and Mexican basketball will continue to wait for another product of spontaneous generation that has nothing to do with a structure that systematically trains talent. Something not very different in the rest of the national sport.

But beyond the successes achieved with the Mexican team like the Centrobasket in Tepic or the World Cup in Venezuela, where he was the best player in the tournament and Mexico returned to a World Cup after more than 40 years of absence, it will be the way in which Gustavo played for the national team. He did it the right way. Ayón never pretended to be the center of attention, she did not behave like a diva as some others had in the past demanding prima donna treatment. She assumed the role that corresponded to her and did not kidnap the team and the coaches with prominence, a common vice of the past.

Valedeolmillos was able to direct as he did in moments of success because he had Gustavo Ayon on your side. It was like the Duncan for Popovich. If the star leads by example to the rest, they have no choice but to align. The Mexican team he earned respect and defended a way of playing, understanding the limitations of the team, but enhancing the strengths of the group. A Mexicowith Ayón on the pitch, any team in the world respected him.

In 17 years of professional career, Gustavo Ayon triumphed in Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Russiaand of course in the national representative, but it was in the real Madrid where he lived his best moments, there he shared championships with figures like Doncic, Campazzo, Llull, Nocioni and they all have enormous respect for him because he Titan he played the way he should, making the right decision and always weighing the collective benefit above the individual number. One of those players that everyone wants on their side.

That boy from Zapotán is, without a doubt, the player that has made me most proud when I saw the national team compete. He aroused unforgettable emotions in compatriots who had never seen a game of the Mexican team. The 12 Warriors had the best possible leader in Gustavo because he brings together everything a professional should be. A guy who defended the national uniform with dignity and who is already missed.

Thanks a lot, Titan.