Lanzarote basketball cries the sudden loss of Pablo Brieba, Player, coach and club coordinator Tizziri basketballwho died last Sunday at the beach of The Charconesin the municipality of Yaiza. Just a few days before, on August 14, he had turned 30. His death leaves a huge vacuum in his family, in his students and throughout the sports community of the island.
Brieba was spending the afternoon with some friends practicing snorkel and diving when, as witnesses reported, he did not come out again after one of the immersions. They looked for him for a while until they found him in the background, already lifeless, despite all the efforts that were made to revive him.
A life marked by sport
His great passion was always basketball. In addition to directing and training in the Tinajo tizziri, He also worked as his town's club. He had previously tried his luck at the Football Tinajo CD, reaching the absolute category and even testing at the Las Palmas Sports Union. The sport was part of his day to day: he played the paddle, surfing, ran, trained in the gym he had at home and never letting the opportunity to light some baskets pass.
Although he worked as an economy professor at the IES César Manrique, in Lanzarote, he always confessed that he would have loved to devote himself fully to sport and health. His energy, his cheerful character and the way of relating to all those around him made him someone very dear both on and off the courts.
The tribute of his people
Two days after the tragedy, the Plaza de San Roque in Tinajo It became the scene of a tribute as simple as exciting. Club players and players made their balls thrown for a minute followed on the cobblestones, filling the air of that characteristic echo that, according to those who met him, was Paul's favorite sound. After that moment loaded with symbolism, a minute of silence arrived, finally broken by a long applause that united neighbors, athletes and authorities.
The City Council of Tinajo thanked the gesture of the Island Basketball Family and highlighted the human legacy that leaves: “Paul leaves a great vacuum, but also a great footprint in our municipality.”
An indelible footprint
Media on the island echoed the terrible news. Even students approached, colleagues from the institute, basketball players, children they trained, families, friends of their people, the university and all of the Canary Islands. Everyone agreed on the same idea: he was an exceptional person, always with a smile in the face and with the ability to welcome everyone without exception. He never had a negative word and knew how to find the good part in each person.
Those who knew him also highlight his joking character and his ability to overcome even in difficult times, always finding comfort in family and friends.
In the most intimate, Pablo He was the true link of his family. Pending everyone, he always struggled to keep them together. “We have left the joy of the house. We will miss him, although we know he is in heaven and will help us from there to preserve that sense of humor and that joy that characterized him so much,” they express their loved ones.
The image of the balls bouncing in the square of San Roque It will remain as a symbol of a painful goodbye, but also as the best tribute to someone who dedicated his life to listen to that same sound: the basketball beating in every corner of Tinajo.
