Polideportivo León Coundou

The Polideportivo León Coundou sits in the Barrio San Felipe, its doors opening onto España 642. It is not an open-air arena; it is a box of timber and light, built to hold three thousand two hundred people with the roof pressed down tight above the hardwood floor. The court is the centre of gravity here.

The place was inaugurated in 1968 as a basketball court, but the surface was not always the floating parquet that meets international standards today. The renovation in 2018 brought the floor into compliance with FIBA regulations. Deportivo San José, the club founded by the school’s directors and alumni, plays its home games within these walls. Olimpia Kings also uses the Polideportivo for their major matches. The women’s team of Deportivo San José plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol Femenino on the same floor.

It is a physical condition that players must negotiate, just as they negotiate the defenders. It is a room that sees the same struggles and successes regardless of which jersey is worn.