Inaugurated this year, the “LF Challenge” has conquered the Spanish basketball fans! Who won the first edition? Which teams and players were present? Did the public respond? A look back at this unprecedented season!
Barcelona wins the first edition of the LF Challenge!
Barcelona has had an exceptional season! With a record of 27 wins and 3 losses over the entire season, Barça became the first team to win the LF Challenge. This team, which has combined national talents and experienced international players, has reached the upper level!
To determine which team would accompany Barcelona to the LF Endesa, the top-ranked teams at the end of the regular season faced off in a Final 4!
The final of accession was very competitive. Finally, the team of “Hozono Global Jairis” won 66-55 against “Recoletas Zamora”, and thanks to this victory, the team led by Erika de Souza gets its ticket in LF Endesa!
Erika de Souza, MVP of the Final 4 !
Euroleague champion, WNBA champion and 6 times LF Endesa champion, Brazilian Erika de Souza finished the regular season as the second player with an average rating of 18.5.
In the game that allowed his team to reach the next level, De Souza made an XXL performance! 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 30 ratings! At 40 years old and with almost 20 seasons in Spain, the Brazilian player continues to enter the legend and won the title of MVP in the Final 4!
Other world-class players participated in this first edition of the LF Challenge! Among them, we find the Barcelona players Nuria Martinez and Marta Canella. Ana Pocek, MVP of the regular season, had an excellent season!
Clubs from different backgrounds
The clubs that participated in this first edition all came from different backgrounds!
Among them, there were very structured and established clubs. The “Celta Zorka Recalvi”, the “Recoletas Zamora”, the “Lima Horta Barcelona”…
But also clubs living their first season in the elite as the “Hierros Díaz Extremadura Miral”, the “CAB Estepona”, the “Osés Construcción Ardoi” or the “NB Paterna”. There were also clubs very committed to women’s basketball, as was the case of “Hozono Global Jairis” or the club of “Manuela Fundación Raca”.
A success of popularity for the LF Challenge!
The championship was broadcast on the channel “CanalFEB.tv” but also on Twitch. The figures speak for themselves: 600 viewers on average for each game and 5,000 for each day! During the Final 4 played in Alcantarilla, the official Twitch channel of the Spanish Basketball Federation counted more than 8,000 viewers and 21,000 views!
The LF Challenge, 2022/2023 version...
After the relegation of the clubs “Hierros Díaz Extremadura” and “Advisoria Maresme” and the rise to the top division of Barça and “Hozono Global”, 4 new teams will try the second edition of the LF Challenge! Two teams from the Canary Islands will be present, namely the club of “Tenerife Clarinos” and the club of “Vega Lagunera Toyota”.
See you soon for the second edition of the LF Challenge, which promises to be just as exciting as the first!
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