Tiago Oliveira took the first step in a long and successful journey

The last game of the male CAB team at the time 2015/2016 marked the debut in games of the Men's League, by Tiago Oliveira. The young player, only 16 years old (born 29 November 1999), thus took his first step in the most important Portuguese basketball competition, starting a course that we all hope will take him higher and higher flights. Tiago Oliveira was born in Porto Santo and began the practice of basketball in the service of the Clube Porto Santo. At the age of 14, his life changed when he attracted the attention of CAB observers during the Minicest tournament. Contacts followed between the Board of Friends of the Basketball and the parents of the player, from which resulted the arrival of Tiago to Funchal to join the Training Schools of the CAB. The move to Madeira Island meant not only a change of club and social context, but also a change of school, habits and routines. Young James had to adapt to a lifestyle that was especially dedicated to his development as a student and as a basketball player, which requires maximum dedication and commitment from him. Because he is a person with clear goals and an enormous desire to be better and better, James has been able, with merit and commitment, to improve different aspects of his game and to affirm himself increasingly as a promise, not only of the CAB, but also of national basketball. Proving this is the fact that Tiago is perfectly integrated into the group of players in observation for the National Selection of his rank and has already joined the team that represented Portugal in the European Championship of Sub-16, played in Bulgaria last summer. Juca highlights player attitude and ambition In statements to the Official CAB Site, Juca, coach of the Men's Senior Team of Friends, no doubt about Tiago Oliveira's great potential. According to the coach, "The team's statement also involves the framing of young athletes in the training. I believe James will be one of these athletes because he has shown an attitude in the way he works appropriate to his ambition." As for the future, Juca highlights the importance of work as the main means by which Tiago Oliveira will be able to approach the goals that he has outlined for themselves. "He naturally has a long way to go and will always be accompanied by a technical and social orientation," said the Friends coach, who is not afraid to point out "We are facing an athlete who will certainly dignify the work being done in the formation of the club". Francisco Gomes praises humility and human structure Tiago Oliveira's debut in the Professional League was a very special moment for Francisco Gomes, president of the CAB Board. The leader of the Friends put a great personal commitment to the process that culminated in the coming of the player to the CAB, when he was still a child, even assuming, in the early times of Tiago in Madeira, the role of Education Officer. "Watching him pass me by, addressing the Officers' Bureau and taking the first steps in a Professional League game is a moment I keep forever because I felt that, in a way, it was my 'boy' who was there starting to write a new chapter in his life, in the eyes of all of us," said the Leader of Friends. "I know - and James also knows - that getting here, as difficult as it may seem, was the easiest. From here on, expectations rise, pressure rises and even petty criticism increases. He knows very well that all this only goes beyond much work, much discipline and an unwavering faith in his own abilities," said Francisco Gomes. "He has it all and - even more important! - has the humility of those who know where it came from and know where it is going. If he remains faithful to himself - and I trust it will be so, because he has a human structure - I know he will get where neither we dream he will arrive," concluded the president of the CAB.