Javier Imbroda has died this Sunday in Malaga at the age of 61 after a long fight against cancer (prostate cancer, diagnosed in 2017). Born in 1961 in Melilla, he was currently the Minister of Education and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, but above all he was passionate about basketball.
Basketball
Doctor in Educational Sciences from the UMA and Master in Senior Business Management from the San Telmo International Institute, Imbroda was one of the great coaches in our country. He was always closely linked to Malaga, with Maristas and, after his union with Caja de Ronda, with Unicaja. It was 14 years (1984-1998) before joining Caja San Fernando in Seville (1998-2001), Real Madrid (2002-03), Grupo Capital de Valladolid (2006-08) and Vive Menorca (2009).
His time with the white team caused his departure from the Spanish National Team due to the rule of not being able to reconcile the national team with one of the ACB. His international stage lasted only two championships: Turkish Eurobasket 2001 and World Cup in Indianapolis. And in both he got something positive. In the continental championship he caught the bronze medal and in The United States achieved the milestone of beating the host country in an official match (81-75). The tournament finished fifth.
Fight against cancer
After overcoming cancer, he decided to share his experience by getting involved in different projects with sport as the backbone, reports Europa Press.
What’s more, created the Javier Imbroda Foundation, which serves children daily with sport as a tool for inclusion and which it set up with its own resources, without public aid or subsidies. She has served as a speaker at numerous university, social, and business forums on management and leadership.
Before assuming his position as counselor, Imbroda already had experience in being part of a government team led by the PP, since in July 2011 he was appointed as the new director of the Sports Area of the Malaga City Council, governed by the popular Francisco of the tower.