Elena Buenavida

Elena Buenavida
Valencia Basket
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLiga Femenina Endesa
Personal information
Born (2004-03-08) 8 March 2004
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Listed height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Career information
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2022Segle XXI
2022–2024Valencia Basket
2024–2025→Lointek Gernika
2025–presentValencia Basket

Elena Buenavida Estévez (born 8 March 2004) is a Spanish basketball player who plays as a point guard for Valencia Basket in the Liga Femenina Endesa.[1] A regular in Spain's youth national teams, she won several international medals as a junior before making her senior debut in 2025 and taking the silver medal at EuroBasket Women 2025.[2]

Early life and youth career

Buenavida is from Granadilla de Abona, in the south of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. She came up through the youth system of CB Luther King in La Laguna, where she developed into one of the most promising players of her generation in the islands. In 2019 she was selected to join the high-performance academy of Segle XXI in Barcelona, a programme through which many Spanish internationals have passed.[3] That same year she made her debut with a Spanish youth national team at the U16 European Championship held in Skopje, North Macedonia.[4]

Club career

Segle XXI

After moving to Catalonia, Buenavida came through the Segle XXI academy and made her professional debut in the Liga Femenina 2, Spain's second tier. In the 2021–22 season she emerged as one of the standout players of the competition, winning a weekly Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and averaging 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.[5]

Valencia Basket

In 2022, Buenavida joined Valencia Basket, where she alternated between the first team in the Liga Femenina Endesa and the club's affiliate side, Club Nou Bàsquet Paterna, in the LF Challenge. Over her first two seasons with the club she played 99 official games and contributed to four titles, under a contract running until 2027.[6]

In June 2024, Valencia Basket loaned Buenavida to Lointek Gernika for the 2024–25 season so that she could gain more playing time in the Liga Femenina Endesa.[7] During the season she played 29 games, averaging close to 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in about 24 minutes per game.[8]

Buenavida returned to Valencia Basket for the 2025–26 season, establishing herself in the rotation. She was named MVP of the opening game of the Liga Femenina Endesa finals, scoring 19 points.[9] Valencia Basket went on to win the league title by defeating Perfumerías Avenida in the final.[10]

National team career

Youth

Buenavida has been a regular member of Spain's youth national teams in both the five-a-side and 3x3 formats. In August 2021 she was part of the Spanish squad at the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup in Hungary, where the team finished seventh.[11]

Days later, also in Hungary, she helped Spain reach the final of the 3x3 U18 World Cup, where the team finished as runners-up after losing to the United States. Buenavida was named to the tournament's all-star team.[12] Spain lost the final 14–21.[13]

In September 2021 she won the 3x3 U17 European Cup, held in Lisbon, Portugal, where Spain beat Germany 15–7 in the final.[14]

The following year, in July 2022, Buenavida won the gold medal at the U20 European Championship in Sopron, Hungary, where Spain defeated the Czech Republic 47–42 in the final.[15] Weeks later, in August 2022, she took the silver medal at the U18 European Championship in Heraklion, Greece, where Spain lost the final to Lithuania 75–78.[16] In that final she scored 36 points, the highest individual tally recorded in a U18 European Championship final.[17]

In July 2023, Buenavida was part of the Spanish team that finished runner-up at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup, held in Madrid, losing 66–69 to the United States in the final.[18] In 2024 she added a silver medal at the U20 European Championship.[19]

Senior

Buenavida made her senior national team debut in February 2025, playing in a qualifying game for the European Championship against Austria.[20] She was then included in Miguel Méndez's squad for EuroBasket Women 2025, one of several newcomers in a young team, and won the silver medal after Spain lost the final to Belgium 65–67 in Athens.[21]

In March 2026, Buenavida was named in Spain's 12-player squad for the Women's World Cup qualifying tournament held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as Spain sought to return to the World Cup after an eight-year absence.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Valencia Basket cede a Elena Buenavida al Lointek Gernika" [Valencia Basket loans Elena Buenavida to Lointek Gernika]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "España 65-67 Bélgica: resumen y resultado de la final del Eurobasket femenino" [Spain 65-67 Belgium: summary and result of the women's EuroBasket final]. The Objective (in Spanish). 29 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "La joven promesa del baloncesto español, Elena Buenavida Estévez, es agasajada por el Ayuntamiento" [The young Spanish basketball prospect, Elena Buenavida Estévez, is honoured by the Town Hall]. Ayuntamiento de Granadilla de Abona (in Spanish). 30 December 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "La granadillera Elena Buenavida juega con la selección española en el Europeo U16 en Macedonia" [Granadilla's Elena Buenavida plays for the Spanish national team at the U16 European Championship in Macedonia]. Sol del Sur Tenerife (in Spanish). 22 August 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "J.18: Elena Buenavida, el MVP de la irrupción de una futura estrella" [Round 18: Elena Buenavida, the MVP and the emergence of a future star]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 14 February 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Awa Fam y Elena Buenavida vuelven al primer equipo de Valencia Basket" [Awa Fam and Elena Buenavida return to the Valencia Basket first team]. Valencia Basket (in Spanish). 28 May 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Elena Buenavida, uno de los grandes proyectos de Valencia Basket, llega cedida a Gernika" [Elena Buenavida, one of Valencia Basket's great prospects, joins Gernika on loan]. Naiz (in Spanish). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Awa Fam and Elena Buenavida return to Valencia Basket's team". Valencia Basket. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "F-J.1: Elena Buenavida, talento y liderazgo en la conquista de su primer MVP" [Final Game 1: Elena Buenavida, talent and leadership in claiming her first MVP]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 15 May 2026. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Leticia Romero y Elena Buenavida campeonas de la Liga Femenina Endesa" [Leticia Romero and Elena Buenavida, champions of the Liga Femenina Endesa]. Federación Canaria de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 17 May 2026. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Elena Buenavida: "Defender los colores de España en otro Mundial es increíble"" [Elena Buenavida: "Defending Spain's colours at another World Cup is incredible"]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 24 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "España, Subcampeona del Mundo 3x3 U18" [Spain, runners-up at the 3x3 U18 World Cup]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 29 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Elena Buenavida, subcampeona del Mundo 3x3 U18" [Elena Buenavida, runner-up at the 3x3 U18 World Cup]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). 30 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "La U17F conquista el trono Europeo" [The U17 women claim the European throne]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 19 September 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Elena Buenavida, una granadillera campeona de Europa sub-20" [Elena Buenavida, a Granadilla native crowned U20 European champion]. Radio Marca Tenerife (in Spanish). 19 July 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "Noa Djiu Morro, Elena Buenavida y Alicia Flórez, subcampeonas de Europa U18F" [Noa Djiu Morro, Elena Buenavida and Alicia Flórez, U18 European runners-up]. Plaza Deportiva (in Spanish). 15 August 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Elena Buenavida y su actuación sin precedentes en la final del Europeo U18" [Elena Buenavida and her unprecedented performance in the U18 European final]. Gigantes del Basket (in Spanish). 16 August 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "España, subcampeona del mundo U19" [Spain, U19 world runners-up]. Federación Española de Baloncesto (in Spanish). 23 July 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "El Cabildo homenajea a las jugadoras de baloncesto Elena Buenavida, Nicole Domínguez e Inés García" [The Cabildo honours basketball players Elena Buenavida, Nicole Domínguez and Inés García]. Diario de Tenerife (in Spanish). 30 July 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Elena Buenavida debuta con la selección española absoluta de baloncesto" [Elena Buenavida makes her debut with the senior Spanish national basketball team]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). 7 February 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Eurobasket 2025: España gana una plata brillante y dolorosa" [EuroBasket 2025: Spain wins a brilliant and painful silver]. Olympics.com (in Spanish). 30 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "La selección española busca su billete para el Mundial: esta es la lista de las 12 jugadoras para el torneo" [Spain seeks its World Cup ticket: this is the list of 12 players for the tournament]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). 4 March 2026. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
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