Mexico is a country, as are so many others in the Americas, where most children that have a ball try to kick it. The dream that keeps them awake at nights is that of becoming soccer players. Víctor Álvarez Díaz, born in Nogales 22 years ago, also had that dream: “I never imagined getting to where I am today. As a kid I preferred soccer, but basketball opened a lot of doors for me and that was what motivated me to continue in this sport.” The point guard plays professionally since this season and that made him leave soccer practice aside. “I've steered too far away from soccer, but many times I’ve wanted to go out to play in some tournament among friends or something like that. I was usually a mid-fielder or forward. But now, the only place I play soccer is in the PlayStation,” confesses Álvarez.

In his native city of Nogales, in the state of Sonora, which borders the state of Arizona, his father supported the idea that Víctor choose basketball over soccer. One of his idols is also from Nogales: Francisco “Pako” Cruz. “I've talked to him only a couple of times, but I've obviously admired him always; particularly for all of his achievements and I’d like for us to be teammates at some moment,” says Víctor.

Before becoming a professional player, Álvarez played for the Gallos of the Monterrey Center for University Studies’— where he received his degree in Physical Culture and Sports — and was named as one of the best college players in Mexico. At this level he was crowned champion in 2016 at the Student Basketball Association and was chosen for the tournament's All Star Five. The two finalists of the most recent edition of the National League of Mexican Professional Basketball, Capitanes and Soles, fought to sign the young point guard, who ended up choosing the side from Mexicali. “Coming to Soles has been a very important challenge in my sports career. It has shown me to mature as a player, to grow as a person and to learn from the good players that are at a higher level that I am because of their great experience,” Álvarez analyzes.

One of Álvarez’s role models is Orlando Méndez, captain of Soles: “Orlando has been very important in making me understand the game a bit better, but the truth is that I learn from the experiences of all my teammates.”

Soles, who arrived at this edition of Liga de las Américas with the objective of qualifying to the Final Four, said farewell too early with a 1-triumph and 2-defeat record. As for the Mexicali squad, Álvarez is the only player that was born in Mexico. This panorama is not limited to Soles, since there are several teams that have a lot of US basketball players with Mexican passports within their ranks. For Víctor it wasn’t easy to adapt to this situation: "It's been complicated for me because I’ve had to master the English language and, obviously, the customs of players from another background are different. However, I believe that we all have the same goal and that helps me to integrate in the team. Currently, there are few players born in Mexico that play in this league. And just like I’ve been able to get to this level, I’d like for other generations to have the door open so that the Mexican impact is greater in the competition.”

Álvarez is also one of the new faces in the senior Mexican team, which is currently undergoing a rebuilding process. “I’ve had the opportunity to play for my country in U18 and in the World University Games, and now I've had the opportunity of debuting in the adult team. I’ll always be proud to represent Mexico,” says the point guard. His international debut was during the most recent FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying window, against Argentina. There, he made 4 points in 11 minutes. “Being able to play against a team as big as Argentina has contributed a lot to me as a player. I only played for a few minutes, but it's something that motivated enough to keep working and trying to grow as a player,” explained Álvarez.

It was Spanish coach Iván Déniz who opened the doors for him to play as a professional player and to become a part of the Mexican team, since he’s Álvarez’s coach in both teams: “Iván is the type of coach that has a great vision for the players’ future and he gave me the opportunity to play with Soles, where he has given me his support and has tried to lead me into reaching my fullest potential.”

Players with the commitment and drive of Víctor Álvarez are the future of Mexican basketball, its league and National Team.

FIBA