Wikipedia / CB Estudiantes
Wikipedia / CB Estudiantes
Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., (English: Club Basketball Students) known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 1948, it is one of the most recognized basketball teams in Spain.
Some of its achievements include winning three Spanish Cups and reaching the ACB Finals in 2004. Playing on the courts of said Institute, with a large number of teams of all categories from children to juniors, the club's youth academy has produced many players and coaches of Spanish basketball throughout its history, such as Alberto Herreros, Nacho Azofra, Aíto García Reneses, José Miguel Antúnez, Jesús Codina, José Sagi-Vela, Gonzalo Sagi-Vela, Fernando Martín, Alfonso Reyes, Felipe Reyes, Carlos Jiménez, Fran Guerra, Sergio Rodríguez, Iñaki de Miguel, Javier Beirán, Pepu Hernández, Carlos Suárez, Darío Brizuela, Jaime Fernández, Daniel Clark, Jayson Granger, Sebas Saiz or Juancho Hernangómez.
History
The club Estudiantes was founded in April 1948 by a group of students (the "Estudiantes") of a public preparatory school (the Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu, IRM) in Madrid to form a team to practice sport during the school recesses. Mr. Antonio Magariños, Professor of Latin and head of studies of the high school, was the first president of the club. It held the position until 1964. From 1949 it has played in the maximum category of the Spanish basketball. By the time when the first Spanish-wide season-long championship was organized in 1955, by the Spanish Basketball Association (FEB), it was one of the six clubs participating in that tournament, as the second best team from the Province of Madrid (the first being Real Madrid). Until 2021, it had always participated in the premier Spanish basketball league along with Real Madrid and Joventut. It was also one of two only Spanish basketball clubs with teams both at the top male and female Spanish championships. In May 1963, Estudiantes won their first trophy, the Spanish Cup, against Real Madrid. In April 1986, after several decades without sporting success, Estudiantes won their first Copa Príncipe de Asturias against Granollers, led by the American forward David Russell. The 1990s and 2000s would be the golden age of the college club. While competing every year in ACB and European competitions, he achieved success and won trophies. In April 1992, a month after winning his second Spanish Cup against CAI Zaragoza, Estudiantes reached the 1992 EuroLeague Final Four in Istanbul, finishing in 4th place. It was his Annus mirabilis. In March 1999, the team played his only European final, in the 1998–99 Korać Cup, by defeated by FC Barcelona. In January 2000, Estu won his third Spanish Cup against Valencia, the last one until today. In the 2003–04 ACB season, it reached the Spanish ACB League finals, where they could not win against FC Barcelona. In May 2012, after several irregular seasons, marked by a bad economic situation, Estudiantes was relegated for the first time in its history from the top tier of Spanish basketball, but remained in the league because LEB Oro champion CB 1939 Canarias didn't present the required documentation and money. In May 2016, again, the team was relegated, but remained in the ACB because champion Palencia Baloncesto didn't present the required documentation and money. The club's irregular sporting situation could have been resolved with more efficient management, but finally, after several relatively stable years, the team's relegation was completed during the coronavirus pandemic in May 2021. Since then, Estu remains in LEB Oro, fighting for promotion back to the ACB and gradually resolving its financial situation. Even so, during this negative period, Estudiantes has managed to expand their trophy collection, winning the Copa Princesa de Asturias twice more against Granada (2022) and Básquet Coruña (2024). In January 2026, Estudiantes added to its list of achievements once again, winning the newly created competition, the Spain Cup, against Palencia Baloncesto, the host team of the Final Four.
Logos
Sponsorship naming
Along the years CB Estudiantes has had several sponsorship names:
Home arenas
La Nevera (The IRM Arena): (1948–71)
Polideportivo Antonio Magariños: (1971–87)
Palacio Vistalegre: (2001–2005)
Madrid Arena: (2005–2010)
Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid: (1987–2001, 2010–present)
Gallery
Rivalries
Estudiantes has a rivalry with Real Madrid. Both teams meet in the Madrid basketball derby (). Since 2011, both teams currently share their home arena, the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid. Until 2021, Estudiantes and Real Madrid, along with Joventut, were the only teams that had played all the seasons in the top tier. However, Estudiantes was relegated to LEB Oro after finishing 18th in the 2020–21 ACB season.
Players
Basketball Hall of Famers
Antonio Díaz-Miguel, 1950–1952, 1953–1958, inducted 1997
Fernando Martín, 1979–1981, inducted 2007
Current roster
Depth chart
Notable players
Head coach
Rafael Laborde: 1948–1949, 1953–1955, 1956
Miguel Parrilla: 1949–1951
Leopoldo Bermúdez: 1951–1953
Víctor Díaz: 1955–1956
Héctor Rodríguez: 1956 (int.)
José Antonio Garrido: 1956–1957
Roberto Bermúdez: 1957, 1959–1960, 1974–1975
Emilio Tejada: 1957–1958
Ramón Uturbi: 1958–1959
Jaime Bolea: 1960–1963
Jesús Codina: 1963–1964, 1973–1974, 1979–1981
Francisco Hernández: 1964–1965
Ignacio Pinedo: 1965–1973
Fernando Bermúdez: 1975–1976
José Ramón Ramos: 1976–1979
Fernando Martínez Arroyo: 1979
Antonio Gómez Carra: 1981–1983
Paco Garrido: 1983–1988
Miguel Ángel Martín: 1988–1994
Pepu Hernández: 1994–2001, 2001–2005, 2011–2012
Charly Sáinz de Aja: 2001
Juan Antonio Orenga: 2005–2006
Pedro Martínez: 2006–2007
Mariano de Pablos: 2007
Javier Carlos González: 2007 (int.)
Velimir Perasović: 2007–2008
Luis Casimiro: 2008–2011
Trifón Poch: 2012
Txus Vidorreta: 2012–2015
Diego Ocampo: 2015–2016
Alberto Lorenzo: 2016 (int.), 2023
Sergio Valdeolmillos: 2016
Salva Maldonado: 2016–2018
Josep Maria Berrocal: 2018–2019
Aleksandar Džikić: 2019–2020
Javier Zamora: 2020–2021
Jota Cuspinera: 2021–2022
Diego Epifanio: 2022
Javi Rodríguez: 2022–2023
Pedro Rivero: 2023–2025
Natxo Lezkano: 2025
Toni Ten: 2025–present
Presidents
Antonio Magariños: 1948–1964
Anselmo López: 1964 (int.)
José Hermida: 1964–1971
Pedro Dellmans: 1971–1983
Juan Francisco Moneo: 1983–1998
Alejandro González Varona: 1998–2004
Juan Francisco García: 2004–2005, 2008–2014
Fernando Bermúdez: 2005–2008
Javier Tejedor: 2008
Fernando Galindo: 2014–2022
Ignacio Triana: 2022–present
Season by season
International record
Honours
Domestic competitions
Copa del Rey de Baloncesto (Spanish King's Cup)
Runners-up (4): 1962, 1973, 1975, 1991
Winners (1): 2025–26
Copa Princesa de Asturias (Spanish Princess' Cup) (defunct)
European competitions
4th place (1): 1991–92
Final Four (1): 1992
FIBA Saporta Cup (defunct)
FIBA Korać Cup (defunct)
Runners-up (1): 1998–99
FIBA EuroChallenge (defunct)
4th place (1): 2006–07
Final Four (1): 2007
Other competitions
FIBA International Christmas Tournament (defunct)
Winners (1):1992
Torneo Comunidad de Madrid (defunct)
Winners (8): 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003
Albacete, Spain Invitational Game
Winners (1): 2014
Torneo Ciudad de Getafe
Winners (1): 2019
Individual awards
Juan Antonio Orenga – 1991
John Pinone – 1992
Alfonso Reyes – 2000
Sergio Rodríguez – 2005
Carlos Suárez – 2006
Juancho Hernangómez – 2016
David Russell – 1986, 1987
Rickie Winslow – 1990
Chandler Thompson – 1996, 1998
ACB Three Point Shootout Champion
Danko Cvjetičanin – 1993
Keith Jennings – 1996
Carlos Jiménez – 2006
Carlos Suárez – 2010
Nik Caner-Medley – 2011
Edwin Jackson – 2017
Sylven Landesberg – 2018
David Russell – 1986
Álex Urtasun – 2022
Alec Wintering – 2024
Lotanna Nwogbo – 2026
Matches against NBA teams
Gold and Diamond Badge
The Gold and Diamond Badge of Club Estudiantes is the highest honor bestowed by the sports organization. It is characterized as a piece of jewelry that represents the club's shield in gold, adorned with diamonds, symbolizing excellence, commitment and a long association with the entity. It is an exclusive symbol awarded to people who have made an exceptional contribution to its history, values or functioning, including presidents, historical players or important people for their career and institutional or social support. Currently, fifteen people have received the distinction in the club's more than 75-year history:
Presidets of the club
José Hermida (1964–1971)
Pedro Dellmans (1971–1983)
Juan Francisco Moneo (1983–1998)
Alejandro González Varona (1998–2004)
Juan Francisco García (2004–2005, 2008–2014)
Institutional
Francisco González, chairman of Argentaria
Alberto Toledano, CEO and managing director of Asefa
César Alierta, CEO and chairman of Telefónica
Luis Miguel Gilpérez, chairman of Telefónica
Sports
Juan Antonio Martínez Arroyo, player (1961–1975)
José Sagi-Vela, player (1963–1969, 1974–1977)
John Pinone, player (1984–1993)
Pepu Hernández, head coach (1994–2001, 2001–2005, 2011–2012)
Social
Manolo Cavido, prop man and team manager
Petra Guzmán, prop woman, waitress and cleaning woman of the Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu
Women's team
CB Estudiantes has also a women's team which was founded in 1989 and played during several seasons in Liga Femenina, the Spanish women's basketball top tier. It currently plays in Liga Femenina.
Current roster
Season by season
References
External links