Events

On Thursday, February 5th, the 5th edition of the Transilvania Cotraco Basketball Cup for children kicks off, the largest competition at this level in Romania. The organizers, the sports equipment company SportLife and the basketball club ACS Gladius Târgu-Mureș, along with the main partners, Cotraco and the Târgu-Mureș City Hall, made a brief presentation of the competition which grows from edition to edition. At the competition held under the aegis of the Romanian Basketball Federation, this edition will also have an international character, with teams from Germany, including those from Munich and Hockenheim, as well as the most renowned youth teams from Bulgaria and Hungary. Joining them will be the strongest youth basketball teams from Romania, clubs with hundreds of registered players, making this the most powerful youth basketball competition in Romania. More than 40 teams, boys and girls, will line up at the start, competing in two periods. Between February 5th and 9th, Babybasket teams will compete, with 14 boys’ teams and 4 girls’ teams. From February 9th, Minibasket teams will enter the competition, with 20 boys’ teams and 6 girls’ teams.

Hopes for a complete success from everyone Before the start, the organizers and sponsors of the competition expressed their conviction that this competition will benefit everyone. “I congratulate the organizers for their efforts to continue this competition for children. Five years is not a short time, and we have joined in two years ago to support this competition, which grows year by year, and I thank the Cotraco company for joining us in supporting it. Even if it is not to everyone’s liking, we can demonstrate that the sporting life in Târgu-Mureș goes on because sport is practiced by more and more children. I am delighted to meet parents or grandparents on the street hurrying not to be late with their children or grandchildren for matches. This is very encouraging, and we will strive to ensure these efforts are not in vain and results will appear over time,” said Vice Mayor Claudiu Maior.

For the second edition, the main sponsor is Cotraco, represented by its administrator, Bogdan Bărbulescu, a great basketball lover, as he has stated on several occasions. “First of all, thank you for giving us the opportunity to be partners in a children’s competition, such as the Transilvania Basketball Cup. I am convinced that this second edition since we became partners of the competition will be even more successful than the previous one, which everyone was very satisfied with. We know very well that sport among children is one of the most beneficial activities; they are the ones who need to be supported, and through our support, we want to contribute to the development of this discipline, which I personally love and practiced myself in childhood, even if it does not show now. I invite all the people of Mureș to join us during the current competition and to join us in future editions,” said Bogdan Bărbulescu.

ACS Gladius Târgu-Mureș Vice President Vlad Pora was very pleased with the number of participating teams and confident in the prospects of the teams he represents. “We present ourselves at the start with at least one team in each category. We are the best-represented club at this edition, considering that the number of children registered at our club has increased to about 150. We are happy to see that with each generation we have managed to fill the gaps we had in previous years in some groups. Our club’s policy is to grow generations of young local basketball players, but results are not currently paramount. Nevertheless, we have hopes for good standings in the 2005 and 2006 groups, both girls and boys. I am somewhat curious to see how the 2007 teams will evolve, where we also have children from 2008 in the team, who have just started playing, but we can grow in value on this occasion. I believe it will be a very beneficial tournament for us, especially since we measure our strength with all the top teams at this level in Romania. This will matter a lot before the National Minibasket League, which will take place in Cluj this summer,” said Vlad Pora.

An “investment” for Târgu-Mureș SportLife Group Manager, Mărgărit Amza, also expressed his conviction that this competition will bring benefits not only to Mureș basketball but also to the city. “I also thank everyone who joined us in organizing this competition. Our company has always been supportive of youth sports, and I want to mention that by encouraging sports for children, such competitions can bring various benefits to the city. Becoming international, in addition to the created image, we can consider that alongside the hundreds of children come hundreds of parents and team supporters, which can only bring benefits to the city,” emphasized Mărgărit Amza on the economic side.

Mascot “Ghiță,” a familiar presence If the previous edition featured the competition’s mascot, the little elephant “Ghiță,” which had unexpected success, especially among participants, it could not be missing from this edition. Although a few kilos heavier, explainable after “a year spent in the closet,” as Cotraco sponsor Mrs. Mihaela Bărbulescu excused, the mascot was “suspected” of having escaped from the closet in the meantime, as there was no dust, and it was in good physical shape. Details about the competition schedule will be available shortly.