Argentina out of the Basketball World Cup: who is Fabián Borro, the man pointed out after the biggest frustration in sport in recent times

The defeat against

that left

out of a

for the first time in 41 years was a very hard blow that unleashed a rain of criticism on social networks, from fans and also from personalities from the world of this sport.

And the claims pointed, in their immense majority, to

as one of the great responsible for that sporting result and the worrying present -and future- of Argentine basketball.

Who is Borro?

He is the president of the

, a position he reached in December 2019, when, at the head of the

list and with the support of 14 provincial federations, he prevailed in the electoral process against the group led by

, until then head of the organization.

The head of the CAB was at the center of the controversy, once again, after the fall of the team led by

against the Dominicans last Sunday, with claims for poor management in recent years, which led to the elimination Argentina.

From questions about the appointment of

as coach of the senior national team -a cycle that ended with a controversial departure from Che in the middle of the Qualifiers and days before the start of the

-;

to complaints about lack of investment so that the players could travel to play the qualifying windows and internal discontent due to logistical decisions that further agitated the waters.

The reproaches against Borro have multiplied in recent days.

Borro, in 2016, when he presided over the AdC.

Photo Marcelo Figueras

The current head of the CAB has a long history as a sports leader.

Since 2000 he has been president of

.

In 2013, he took charge of

(the federation of the Buenos Aires metropolitan area; in which he had previously been vice-president) and in 2014 he became president of the

(AdC), the entity that organizes the

and the Argentine League (ex TNA).

He left these last two positions when he took charge of the national confederation, just over three years ago. 

He also chaired the

and is part of the Competition Commission of the

(FIBA), from where he was one of the main managers (along with Brazil) of the restructuring of the tournaments.

Outside of basketball, he is also Director of Logistics Support for

, a company in which he has worked since 1981.

His stage at the head of the AdC was controversial.

Because he

, with the increase in the number of teams and the adoption of a format with games every day;

and the idea of ​​broadcasting all the matches on a streaming platform.

These changes, which never finished working or convincing, made the most important national basketball competition lose prestige, level and popularity.

The short circuit with the Golden Generation

His election as president of the CAB did not leave everyone happy either.

What's more, many pointed to him as the "leader who twisted the arm of the

."

It is that there were many players from that litter who showed their support for Susbielles.

"In a couple of weeks there will be very important elections in our beloved CAB. I sincerely believe that

. Let's keep moving forward and pulling all in the same direction!", he wrote

on

, shortly before the meeting that recognized Borro as the new president.

Months before, in the preview of the

in which Argentina was runner-up after losing the final to Spain,

had pointed out: "From my perspective, no one who was in the previous management, when the biggest debacle of our history at the leadership level, it should return. If we do that, it would be like saying

. That seems wrong to me".

What was the then captain of the team referring to?

To the scandal that had ended in April 2014 with the management of

, later prosecuted for fraudulent administration, disqualified for life and forced to pay, in November 2022, 80 thousand dollars to the CABB for the damage caused.

Vaccaro's departure -who cited "personal reasons" when he resigned, in the midst of an unsustainable institutional crisis- arose from public complaints made by members of the Golden Generation for a series of irregularities that affected the organization most important of national basketball. 

and was left in the middle of the conflict.

"We ask for a profound change, not only personally, but also in the institutional management of the CAB. It is important, it is necessary, it must be done right now," the group claimed in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup in Spain, in a conference attended by Ginóbili,

and Prigioni (player and coach of the team that lost to the Dominican Republic on Sunday) and Scola, who had warned shortly before that if he decided not to play in the World Cup, "it will be because of management horrendous".

What came next was the intervention of the CAB and the arrival of Susbielles, who at the end of 2015 ran for the presidency and was unanimously proclaimed with the presence of representatives of 23 federations. 

Not only the members of the Golden Generation stood on the sidewalk in front of Borro in the 2022 election.

"I am concerned about what is happening in the CABB. We cannot lose what was achieved with so much effort. Let's continue on the same path. We wanted transparency and honesty, and we found it! 100% support for this management by Federico Susbielles", he assured on Twitter

, highlighting the "order" that the Bahian had brought to the confederation.

"Due to his own experience and results on and off the field, he supported the transparency, seriousness and development that the CABB has today and I believe in continuity...", supported

.

"The players have expressed their opinion, they have every right to do so, and they have done it politely, with respect. We are going to propose that there must be an open door from the house of Argentine basketball for all sectors," said Borro, who moved, toured the country and got the support of 14 federations to reach the presidency of the CAB.

the latest controversy

The discontent over his management reappeared from what the selected one experienced in the last year.

García's arrival in September 2021, after the end of

's contract after the Tokyo Olympics, was not too convincing.

Without questioning Che's credentials, many pointed out that the CAB president prioritized his preference over the wishes and needs of the team.

And at the end of the cycle he proved them right. 

After the CAB announced that García was leaving the team for "privacy reasons", days before the start of the AmeriCup, the campus environment spoke of a series of "events" and "unprofessional acts" by the coach .

Among them, inappropriate behavior in the hotel, in front of the players;

the suspicion that many nights he left the concentration;

his absence from training and even the unusual method he chose to direct the last game, which had caused discomfort in the group.

The sadness of the Argentines and the happiness of the Dominicans, after the game on Sunday.

Forum VICENTE ROBLES / AFP

The appointment of Prigioni as the new DT and the consecration in that AmeriCup disputed in Brazil did nothing more than make up a worrying present.

And the defeat against the Dominican Republic -with García as DT (the Bahian signed with the Central American team less than a month after leaving the Argentine)- once again left Borro at the center of the controversy.

What's more, the president of the CAB was repudiated at the Islas Malvinas Sports Center in Mar del Plata after the game.

The players and the coach, on the other hand, left applauded for the effort and dedication.

A clear indication of the discontent of the people with the current leadership. 

look too

After the controversial celebration, Che García said that there was "a pact" of silence about his departure from the Argentine team

Goodbye to the Basketball World Cup: the causes that explain the blow, the lessons to be learned and the way forward