As a club that chooses tradition and philosophy above even results, yet still competes on the highest levels in Europe, Asefa Estudiantes may be unique in modern pro basketball. Estudiantes was founded more than 50 years ago at a Madrid high school, Ramiro de Maeztu, that remains a main source of top-caliber players for the team. Over its half-century of history, Estudiantes has always been famous for its playing style - fast, aggressive and fun to watch. Competitive since the Spanish League was created in 1956, Estudiantes was powered by historical players such as Chus Codina, Antonio Diaz-Miguel, Aito Garcia Reneses, Vicente Ramos, Jose Luis Sagi-Vela or the Martinez-Arroyo brothers, whose sons, Pablo and Gonzalo, would also reach the Estudiantes first team in the 1990s. The team won its first title, the Spanish Cup, in 1962-63 by upsetting its archrival, Real Madrid 94-90. Fernando Martin arrived to the first team in 1979. He was the first Spaniard to reach the NBA, shortly before his untimely death in a traffic accident a decade later. In the 1980-81 season, however, Martin took the team to new heights, missing the title only after a tie with Real Madrid and a late-season loss to Barcelona. Estudiantes fell on hard times until two key players arrived from afar, spectacular forward David Russell and John Pinone, a big man who became a team leader and arguably the club’s best foreign player ever. Both players stayed for four unforgettable seasons in which the team challenged all the big names in Spain. Players kept coming from the youth teams, too, like Carlos Montes, Alberto Herreros and Nacho Azofra. Pinone was team captain when Estudiantes reached the Final Four in its first Euroleague season, 1991-92, and won that year’s Spanish Cup. Estudiantes got another Spanish Cup title in 2000 and 11 Spanish League semifinals appearances from 1992 to 2005. Felipe Reyes, Carlos Jimenez, Iñaki De Miguel, Sergio Rodriguez or Carlos Suarez are some of the last great players to come out of Estudiantes. Last season, the club made it to the Spanish League finals for the first time in four years, earning a Eurocup spot. It could be a new start for a one-in-a-million club like Estudiantes.