Julián's feat or when basketball is the best basket against autism: "It was like in a movie"

The last minutes of the third quarter were running and

, or Juli as everyone calls him, who had joined the attack a little later, with a joyous and contagious movement of his arms, received the ball at the head of the zone.

"Then, it was like in the last seconds of a movie, everything stopped," describes the moment

, her coach, one of those present at that magical moment that occurred last Saturday in the Marqués de Samaranch pavilion, in the Madrid neighborhood of Arganzuela.

The 12-year-old boy took a couple of steps (or three or four...) backwards, looked at the hoop, placed the ball on his head and...

"Julián, pull!" They all yelled.

The ball made a perfect parable and Juli's triple fell clean.

It could be any other basket, but the extraordinary had happened.

The teammates, the rivals of Amidecu and even the referee applauded, the coaches jumped and the parents of all the children in the stands went crazy.

And they all went to hug the great protagonist of the viral moment.

"You can't see it in the video, but we were all crying. I've been in basketball for many years, I've played finals and important games and I've never, ever experienced a moment of collective emotion like that," says Eva.

Because it was the first basket in a game for Juli, who plays in the CB Lourdes mixed fry and suffers from ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).

And basketball helps him feel integrated.

"Even if the game is even or we are losing by 30, we always take Julián out. Before, we notify the referee and the rival coach, so that they can handle the situation that we have a child with ASD," the coach says about the differentiating element of her team, the one that has not only made Juli live an enriching experience that helps her feel like one more, but also the rest of her children have transformed their presence into collective motivation.

"He always tends to stay far behind, but his teammates try to find him. I was afraid that there would be rejection. But it has been the opposite. Everyone is determined to integrate him. There are a couple of children who, on their own initiative, in training They are always watching him, explaining each exercise to him, even if he delays them. They don't stop hugging each other!", he confesses,

telling the anecdotes that dot the day to day.

Like when Juli fell asleep during some stretches or when he fell to the ground after starting to spin around.

"What a milk I have given myself," he pronounced and everyone began to laugh.

Julián, in the center of the bench, during a timeout for CB Lourdes.CB Lourdes

"I've never seen him get angry"

But managing the integration of a child with autism is not so easy, although Juli is a joy: "I have never seen him angry."

The disorder, characterized by a set of qualitative alterations in social interaction and communication, presents completely different cases, but most do not know what it is to compete or play as a team.

That is why Eva not only needs the help of the rest of her classmates, 11-year-old fingerlings, but also that of her helpers.

In addition to his second,

, this season CB Lourdes has

.

Both take turns paying attention to Juli.

And he already makes amazing strides, like hitting or passing the ball.

Achievements that are small victories that have a positive impact on the quality of life of these people and their families.

"In the courtyard, he always shoots from where he can see it in the video. Even from the middle of the field. The other day he scored five in a row in training, to the general astonishment," Eva recalls the adventures of her day-to-day life with Julián , who has managed to make winning not even the most important thing: "For us, the objectives of values ​​and attitude take precedence."

With basketball, Juli not only obtains physical benefits for children prone to a sedentary lifestyle.

The example of tolerance is perhaps the best lesson for the other members of the CB Lourdes juvenile, one of the teams from the Lourdes school in Madrid.

Amidecu won the game on Saturday (32-19), but everyone won.

"Julián was super happy, he didn't stop smiling. He doesn't talk much, but he is super smiling, with his face he expresses everything. Yesterday in training he continued and when I told them that Llull had shown the video on the networks..." .

The magic of basketball

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• Sergio Llull