Aloe Plus Lanzarote Conejeros is premiering in the signings chapter for the upcoming season with the return of Cándido Matoso.
The Lanzarote center, who reached the EBA League as a junior in Magec Tías and who has been trained in leagues such as the Japanese, German and Slovak, apart from the EBA, arrives after two years in Linense, eager to contribute his experience to an exciting project.
“I feel that now is the time to return,” said Cándido Matoso as his first words after linking up with the orange team. “Sooner or later it was going to happen and, since I have never played in the EBA League in Lanzarote being a 'reference' (I was able to enjoy it when we were promoted with Magec Tías, but at that time I was a junior), I don't want to retire without having defended the colors of my land, with my people, in this category that cost us so much to achieve,” he comments proudly.
“I want to recover the spirit that led us to achieve promotion back in 2016 and, after four years on the peninsula, (between Llíria and La Línea) in which I have not stopped learning, I think I am more than prepared for what is coming.”
The player explains that “it is time to do things well, to demonstrate that it is possible to be at the top of the classification and even, why not, to be promoted to LEB Plata. Many will call me crazy, but we already achieved it one year and, although now it is 'more difficult', there are examples that it is possible,” he comments with enthusiasm, adding that “I am going to give everything of myself so that both myself and my teammates are at all times at 120%”. His competitive spirit comes from his family. His grandfather was a wrestler even in Venezuela and his cousins also play basketball, like the Unicaja player Verónica Matoso.
Regarding the project for next season, he confirms that “it is going to be a very exciting project, in which people 'from home' who want to learn and give everything day after day will be counted on, together with signings who come here for the same thing and, above all, to make a team. We don't want people who come as 'little stars' to do their numbers and think about where they are going to play next season, and I am sure that we are going to achieve it.”
The center also has a message for the fans. “I want the fans to feel proud when they see on the court a team that is willing to give everything at all times, without leaving anything behind. In the end, they are also a fundamental part, since they will help us continue pushing when we need it most, just as I am sure that they will enjoy it as much or more than us,” he concludes.
Asked the president, and at the same time coach, Iván Fernández, about the arrival of Cándido Matoso, he comments that “I know that above all he is going to contribute his fighting spirit and his involvement in an adventure that is very close to him. He will undoubtedly be a leader on and off the court, helping to train the youngest and renewing the energies of the most veteran”. The coach explains that “on the court, we know that he is one of the best posts in the category, very serious in defense, he knows how to position himself and occupy the necessary spaces to help his teammates and in attack he stands out for his ability to run the field and for knowing how to read the advantages in static play. He is a great distributor of the game from the high post and a good teammate. An authentic representative of Conejero basketball and everything that implies”
