The memory of the father in the ring is imperishable. «I was five or six years old, it was the only time I saw him live. It was an exhibition match and I haven't forgotten one silly detail: his pants had to be too big and he was constantly trying not to let them fall down,” relives Chumi Ortega (Yecla, 1997), from this weekend, player of full right of the Endesa League. His story, already remarkable in itself, that of a self-made guy, hero of Zunder Palencia's promotion to ACB this summer, contains one of those peculiar father-son ties.. His father, José Ortega Chumilla, was a heavyweight, the Tigre de Yecla, six-time champion of Spain and Olympian at the Seoul 88 and Barcelona 92 Games.
An ACB without stars, with young people on the run and with 70% of foreign players
From the ring to the basket, a family of values. Chumi (José Francisco), who inherits his nickname from his paternal second surname, was never hit by the blows. He was drawn to football, but it was his father's push that took him to the fields.. «He told me that they had made a club in the town, and that, since it seemed like it was going to be high, I should try. I did soccer and basketball at the same time, but I soon fell in love with basketball. From the beginning I was good at it, I had manners,” he told EL MUNDO who on Saturday made his debut again in the top category (18 minutes, six points and seven rebounds in the defeat of Palencia in the visit to Monbus Obradoiro), since he had already debuted as a UCAM Murcia youth player at 19, nine games, “garbage minutes.”
Until reaching the top, Ortega – “an intense, charismatic player, of intangibles and dirty work,” he defines himself – had to, like so many nationals without opportunities, take steps back.. LEB Silver in Albacete and Alicante and two seasons in Gold with Palencia, until he became a local idol, captain and MVP of the historic rise of the Castilians this summer, the day he stopped being the day of 'dirty work' to become the star from Pedro Rivero's team. «It has been a long road. But I'm not going to waste this opportunity.”. He scored 32 points with a single miss in the shot in the derby against San Pablo Burgos, during the final match for promotion: «That day I was touched with a magic wand. “Everything came out.”
Chumi Ortega, during the first day.
«The enthusiasm I see in people, with fans spending nights at the ticket offices to get season tickets. As if we were the Beatles…”, Chumi jokes about the club's first time in the Endesa League. The Murcian rejects the word “permanence” and warns: “We are going to fight a lot.”
The boxer's son dismantles clichés outside the courts. In the Zunder Palencia locker room they know him as 'the one with the books'. He has just finished his degree in Psychology at UCAM and is going to start, also remotely, the second one, Labor Relations.. «My future involves something related to dealing with people and the business world». «And I'm also with English, last year I got the B2 and this year I'm going for the C1. I want to educate myself, after sport there is a life and I want to be prepared,” he adds, who finds in reading a corner where he can “cleanse his mind and not think about basketball all the time.”
Bachelor of Psychology
From boxing, which he practices in the summer at the gym where his father continues to train young fighters, Chumi also draws lessons, although he is concerned about 'hitting', “on the court.”. His father, also a retired firefighter, who recently returned to fight in the European Police and Firefighter Games, told him about his competitions, his victories and his defeats, VHS videos of that sport where it is preferable to “give than receive.” , as pronounced by Mike Tyson. «But, above all, he tried to instill in me what he has learned, the values, the competitiveness, the desire to fight, the desire to do what you like.. Respect for others, commitment and perseverance at work. All of that is what has made me get to where I am, slowly but surely,” he details.
For Chumi, it is clear that the gloves also help him physically – “you think you are in shape until you start boxing” – but it is in the mind where the key lies.. And he knows what he's talking about, and not just because he has a degree in Psychology. «When I played in Alicante I was about to give up basketball, I had a mental breakdown». He recovered thanks to Rocío, a psychologist from Alicante who helped him with his black clouds.. «It is something that must be treated and cared for daily. What Ricky Rubio has done is an example of humility. It must be respected. It seems that if you go to the psychologist someone is going to think strange things about you. It is not normalized yet,” reflects the boxer's son.