Women's Basketball Copa Castro Sub-13 Receives Several Teams from November 27 to 29

Castro will host the second edition of the U-13 Women’s Basketball Cup from November 27 to 29. The tournament is held by the Municipal Secretariat of Sport, through the Prefecture of Castro, and will be played at the Douglas Pereira Sports Gymnasium, with free entry. The entire community of Castro and the region is invited to watch the games.

Seven teams participate, five of whom are invited from other cities and two from Castro. By Paraná, come Astra, from White Duck, Wolf, from Guarapuava, ASPA and LDPG, from Ponta Grossa, and Guaxo, from São José from Pinhais. Castro will be represented by P.M. Castro Basketball, which is the U-13 team of the municipality, and the G.E.C., formed by the U-12 team. The youngest athletes were entered in the contest in preparation for the U-12 State Championship, which takes place in December.

According to coach Vinicius Carneiro, the Cup was born so that the U-13 generation of Castro was not harmed. The team was prevented from participating in the 2026 State Championship, scheduled for November 4 to 9, because of the JECA calendar. “For this reason, we created the tournament so that this generation of athletes would not be harmed,” he explains. As the team has played only one state competition in the season, the Taça Paraná of Basketball, the coach believes that the volume of games will be the main factor of motivation and evolution of the athletes.

The registrations were made by direct invitation to the teams. As the city does not have enough accommodation to receive more delegations, the participations were closed with five state guests and two local ones. Each delegation may have up to 15 members, including 12 athletes and three members of the technical committee.

Dispute format

The competition will be in a group system. Key A gathers P.M. Castro Basquete, G.E.C., Lobo and ASPA. Key B consists of LDPG, Astra, and Goose. After the qualifying phase, the teams advance to the decisive phases. The first two of each key play the semi-finals, the winners make the grand final and the losers play the third place. The other places will also be defined on the court, and the team that loses the confrontation between the fourth place of Key A and the third place of Key B ends the competition in seventh position. The awards will be with medals from the first to the fourth place, and the teams from the fifth to the seventh place receive medals of participation.

Programming

The pre-programming of the games begins on Friday (27), at 2.30 pm, with the confrontation between the two teams of Castro, P.M. Castro Basquete and G.E.C. At 3:40 p.m., they play LDPG and Guaxo, and at 4:50 p.m., Lobo and ASPA. After a break from 6pm to 7:30pm, the round continues with Astra and Guaxo, at 7:30pm, and P.M. Castro Basquete e Lobo, at 8:40.

On Saturday (28), the group phase continues from 8:30, with G.E.C. and ASPA, followed by LDPG and Astra, at 9:40, and G.E.C. and Lobo, at 10:50. In the afternoon, the ball goes up at 2 p.m. to P.M. Castro Basketball and ASPA, which close the group stage. At 3:10 pm the game that defines the seventh place, and the semi-finals are at 4:20 pm and 5:30 pm. At 8 pm, the festive end of the day is due to the Star Game, which brings together 28 selected athletes, divided into Team Clear and Team Dark, with all entering the court. The match will be refereed by the technicians themselves, will have background music and ends with an official photo of all the delegations.

On Sunday (29), the finals start at 8:30 a.m., with the fifth and sixth place dispute. At 9:40 the third place dispute takes place and, at 10:50, the grand final.

Preparation of Castro

Castro's under-13 team has 15 active athletes in the project, with a maximum of two years of practice in the sport. The team was taken over by coach Vinicius Carneiro in August 2025 and prepares intensely during the season, with some athletes also playing in categories above their age range. The group also has two athletes who participated in the Paranaense Basketball Development Program, promoted by the Paranaense Basketball Federation, and with Izadora Teixeira Stockler, national highlight and South Brazilian runner-up in the National Team Championship.

For the coach, the tournament brings gains that go beyond the court. "Bringing teams to express the sport to our municipality will be an attraction for entertainment, ensuring quality games, evolution of the teams, movement of trade, tourism and cultural exchange," he says. On the expectation, he summarizes: "The expectations are the best: to make strong and intense games against strong teams in search of the evolution of these girls."

Vinícius also highlights the importance of training sport. "The training sport plays an essential role in the construction of athletes and citizens, with practical experience being the main driver of this growth. In women’s basketball, the frequency of games is fundamental to consolidate the technical, tactical and emotional learning developed in trainings,” she says.

Support from the City Hall

The City of Castro, through the Municipal Secretariat of Sport, will be responsible for the cost of arbitration and awards, as well as making possible the accommodation and infrastructure necessary for the event. The coach thanked the Municipal Secretary of Sport, Cristiano Meira, and the sports director, Elton Jhon Maciel, and also the parents of the athletes. "We invite all the people of Castro and the region to come to prestige this event, which will close with a golden key the 2026 season."

With information Advice

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