14ymedio, Havana, 15 October 2024 — The Holguinera Bexy Yelena Claro Viset, who disassociated herself from the Cuban Basketball Federation last year, arrived this Monday in the United States. She did not return to the Island after ending her contract with the Salvadoreñas B.C.team from El Salvador, the runner-up in the Apertura tournament.
Claro Viset moved to Mexico after finishing the Salvadoran tournament. On Aztec soil with the support of the Basketball Association of Mexican Clubs, she joined the Musas Jalisco club for the 2024 season. Last Friday, her team was defeated by the Aztks of the State of Mexico, earning them the runner-up position.
The athlete, who turned 23 on October 6, shared images of her arrival in the United States. “I am resilient and can overcome life’s challenges. My well-being is a priority, and I am committed to taking care of it,” she wrote on her Facebook page a day before her birthday. She already knew that she would fulfill her American dream.
As recalled by the Sports CHAGO page on Facebook, the athlete had played several seasons with the Mambisas de Santiago de Cuba. During her stay on the Island, she was pointed out by the official media ¡Ahora! as one of the key players of the team.
Indeed, the center player was fundamental to the national team during the 2022 Caribbean Championship, which took place in Havana. In addition to her participation in the XXIII Women’s Centrobasket of 2022, held in Chihuahua (Mexico), she also excelled in the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in León (Mexico), the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games (El Salvador) and the 2023 Pan American Games (Chile).
Her case adds to the unstoppable exodus of athletes in search of a better future. In February of this year, Sergio Machado took advantage of the early morning to leave the hotel where he was staying in Orlando, Florida.
Basketball is one of the sports most affected by the unstoppable migratory exodus from the Island, according to Yunier Valdivia Rodríguez, provincial deputy director of sports in Ciego de Ávila. The crisis has worsened due to the lack of coaches. Of eight that the School of Sports Initiation had to count on, at that time there were only six, one of them “hired by the hour.” The casualties are, he said, because they “migrated” or “looked for a source of employment that pays more.”
In October 2023, the Most Valuable Player of the last Superior Basketball League, Joan Carlos Gutiérrez, told Play-Off Magazine that the lack of “a decent court, better training equipment and the absence of international competitions” are some of the obstacles faced by the players.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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