Spain's prestigious Zaragoza, controversy over passing official interview after losing to Denso in the semifinals

Sep 06, 2025

Spain's prestigious Zaragoza, controversy over passing official interview after losing to Denso in the semifinals
Photo courtesy=WKBL



An absurd situation occurred in which Zaragoza refused to be interviewed officially.

Zaragoza of Spain lost 64:70 in the semifinals of the '2025 Park Shinja Cup' against Denso of Japan at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan on the 6th. Zaragoza will clash with the Cheongju KB Stars-Fujitsu (Japan) loser in the upcoming ranking match on the 7th.

There was a problem after the game. Coach Carlos Cantero Morales Zaragoza, who should attend an official press conference, did not appear.




An official from the WKBL, who hosts the competition, said "Sarago has a match between third and fourth places tomorrow (7th), so we need to quickly return to our accommodation and prepare for the game." WKBL persuaded him again, but in the end refused to be interviewed"Under the rules of the competition, disciplinary measures and fines (for refusal of interviews) cannot be taken."

Zaragoza received a lot of attention in this tournament. This is because it is the first European team to participate since the launch of the Park Shin-ja Cup in 2015. Moreover, Zaragoza is the runner-up team in the Spanish Women's Basketball First Division playoff in the 2024-2025 season. He also showed strong performance in this tournament. Zaragoza clashed in Group A with Yongin Samsung Life Insurance (77:70), Asan Woori Bank (87:63) and Fujitsu (80:67) and Busan BNK (58:69). He had three wins and one loss. He tied Fujitsu, but advanced to the semifinals as first place, ahead of the opponent. However, he lost to Denso in the semifinals and was pushed to the third-place match.

Spain's prestigious Zaragoza, controversy over passing official interview after losing to Denso in the semifinals
Photo courtesy=WKBL
Meanwhile, winning was never the point because it was the offseason. I didn't give up and tried to do it until the end. There was a foul, but I tried not to give up. I met Zaragoza and had a good experience. Both teams didn't have many players, but it was a good experience because they encountered different styles of basketball and came across world-class basketball."




Kawai Mai, who led the team to victory by scoring five points in the fourth quarter of the day, said "It was not easy because the opponent was a good team. I think we did what we had to do, so we got a good result. Personally, there is a disappointing turnover. I reached the final. I'm going to revise that part"It was unfortunate that last season ended. I strongly thought that I should be a player who can have confidence in the team. Played for the national team in the offseason. I knew what role I had to play in the team. I thought I should play the role of a match-winner. The result came out well in the match, but in the 40th minute, he was passive. We have to prepare well by the season."



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.