Basketball party started with the arrival of 1300 young people in Albufeira (with photos)

The 1300 young people participating in the X edition of the Youth Basketball Party arrived in Albufeira yesterday, in a festive atmosphere.

The party has already started today and continues until Sunday, in five sports halls in the city. This year, the highlight goes to the “All-Star Game”, Saturday, April 2nd, which will allow thousands of young people, between 14 and 16 years old, to socialize and share experiences with the stars of the sport.

Not even the train's delay, due to a breakdown, removed the smile from the faces of the young basketball players, who, representing 18 delegations from all over the country, paraded yesterday through the city center towards Praça dos Pescadores.

The big moment of the day was the arrival of “Blitz”, the irreverent mascot of the Portuguese Basketball Federation, who chose to travel to the party's grounds, by parachute pulled by a small boat, reaching the beach on a fast jet ski, starring in a spectacle that drew lots of applause and smiles from thousands of participants.

After the surprise, and with all the delegations lined up in the Praça dos Pescadores, the traditional oath of fair play, followed by speeches by the mayor of Albufeira, the vice-president of the Portuguese Basketball Federation (FPB), and the president of the Albufeira Municipal Assembly.

During his speech, mayor Carlos Silva e Sousa highlighted that it was «an honor to host in Albufeira, for the fifth consecutive year, this great Youth and Sports Festival. This is a land that knows how to welcome those who visit us, so I hope you will feel at home and make the most of this enriching experience, both at the sporting level and by socializing with other young people, representatives of national teams from various parts of the country».

The mayor also took the opportunity to invite the young people and their families to get to know the city better, the beauty of the beaches, the culture and gastronomy and, of course, the entertainment, "because there is time for everything as long as everything is done with some moderation", he said.

Paulo Nreira, president of the FPB, in turn, underlined the importance of fair play which should guide the behavior of all athletes. Therefore, he considered the oath as a "symbolic ceremony, but essential for everyone to become aware of the importance of ethics in sport."