[ad_1]
This Monday, after trying to fight serious health problems, Álvaro Tehran Tehran, the basketball star in Colombia, died at the age of 53, after failing to overcome kidney problems he had been suffering from last December and lasting on dialysis during this last time.
“He was hospitalized this Sunday and he was immediately admitted to intensive care. This Monday he died at noon in Cartagena“A source close to Tehran told EL TIEMPO.
María la Baja is a municipality in Bolívar, 72 kilometers from Cartagena. There, it is rare to see that any of its inhabitants have a height of 2.14 meters and weigh 81 kilos. But the history of that town located at the foot of the Montes de María – where agriculture and livestock are the daily sustenance – gave itself the luxury of having a son of those characteristics, who dedicated himself, for things of destiny, to a sport of which he only had references.
Álvaro Tehran Tehran was born on January 6, 1966 and was the son of Romualdo and Cecilia, both of the same last name, but unrelated. That lanky boy, who kept kicking soccer balls and playing baseball in the dusty streets of his town, was not unnoticed.
(It may interest you: The five reflections of Carlos Queiroz in the middle of the pandemic)
Very soon he was seen by Alfonso Torres, former player of the Bolívar Basketball League, who recommended him to move to Cartagena, Where at 18 he started a career that took him to the gates of the NBA and to be one of the most important players in the country.
Tehran came close to being part of the NBA’s Philadelphia quintet. He also participated in basketball tournaments in Spain and Slovenia, in addition to having performed in the Colombian championship on the Sabios and Piratas teams, among others.
EL TIEMPO remembers one of the dialogues he had with Tehran in 2013, in which he told all his basketball anecdotes and gave details of his personal life.
Did you live on basketball?
With a season of two or three months I had to do other things. He lived on basketball when he played and when he didn’t, he worked as an assistant at Inderbol, a law firm.
Who and how did you discover it for basketball?
Alfonso Torres, a former player of the Bolívar team, saw me in town in 1984. When he returned to Cartagena, he told coach Jairo Ramírez about my qualities, and he sent two people to contact me. They proposed to me to go to Cartagena and I accepted.
What did they offer you to leave the house?
A scholarship and work in Comfenalco. He trained during the day and studied at night. Then came the trip to the United States.
How was that change?
I was offered a scholarship in Houston, at the Baptist University, but when I arrived, the sports support for that center had withdrawn it. So I linked to the University of Houston; I went from a cloister of 3,000 to one of 30,000 students.
I felt like I was in the team, but when they tell me I’m not going to stay, the night came. I returned to Houston, packed my bags and returned to Spain.
In the early 90’s he tried his luck in Spain. Why did you leave the basketball mecca?
I had some contacts in Spain. Initially they called me from Real Madrid, but then I decided to play for Málaga. However, I ended my contract and returned to the United States.
He has been the only Colombian who has come close to reaching the NBA. Why was that dream frustrated?
With Philadelphia I made rookie and veteran camps. I got to play five preseason games. The season started on October 4 and a day before I was in my room, excited to play in the NBA, but at about 8 o’clock at night they told me that I was leaving the team.
Which was the reason?
They told me it was not my time, to wait. In less than 24 hours they cut me off. Then I dealt with Washington, with Rockets from Houston and finally I returned to Spain, where I stayed two more years.
A hard knock…
Sure. I felt like I was in the team, but when they tell me I’m not going to stay, the night came. I returned to Houston, packed my bags and returned to Spain.
Which NBA players did you have contact with?
I played alongside Charles Barkley, who later became one of the great figures in that league. He was the Philadelphia star, but that year he was transferred to the Phoenix Suns. I was with him in several camps. He was a calm man, without cares, with a good heart. I realized that when we were doing social work. Of course, on the court they were bad people.
What was left of that experience in the USA? ?
I studied four years of physical education, but work was always my goal, because I wanted to earn money to buy a house for my grandmother and my mother. So I didn’t graduate. I bought the house, but today I don’t have my own home, because of those bad decisions that one makes. I was left with English; thanks to that I work on the current project.
How was your childhood?
My parents always worked outside the country and left me in the care of my grandmother, Vita, along with my seven brothers. We had difficult times. Many times we went to school without breakfast, we came back and there was no lunch, but my grandmother would rummage around to get food.
What is your idol?
Hakeem Olajuwon, the Nigerian. When he was in Houston we went to the same university and I met him. Also, I was very close to him because we played at Rockets, but I never spoke to him again.
Why not Michael Jordan?
No, no, no … Jordan is the best in the world, but in my pole position, Olajuwon marked me.
SPORTS
