By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Aito Garcia Reneses of ALBA Berlin, a dean of his profession and the architect of one of the best offenses in 7DAYS EuroCup history, is the Coach of the Year for the 2018-19 season, as announced Tuesday.
72-year-old Aito, as he is known throughout European basketball, was chosen by Euroleague Basketball from among many deserving candidates after he led ALBA to the EuroCup Finals for the first time since 2010. Under his guidance, ALBA finished first in its Top 16 group and downed playoffs rival Unicaja Malaga and MoraBanc Andorra to reach the finals. In his second season on the club’s bench, Aito has put ALBA in records territory for offense. If its final series against Valencia Basket goes the three-game distance, ALBA will likely set EuroCup marks for most points scored and most assists in a season.
Its current 22.5 assists per game rank third all-time and its 88.5-point average ranks eighth for a single season, with every team ahead of ALBA having played fewer games than its 21 so far. ALBA’s 212 three-pointers made until now rank fourth all-time and its 42.0% accuracy from deep is the second highest ever for teams playing more than 18 games. Despite just three players having participated in every game due to the team’s many injuries, ALBA won 16 of them to continue fighting for EuroCup glory. For all that, Coach Garcia Reneses is a truly deserving choice for 2018-19 7DAYS EuroCup Coach of the Year.
The Coach of the Year honor is part of an awards structure designed to recognize the finest EuroCup participants for their efforts throughout the season. Martynas Echodas of Rytas Vilnius was already named the 7DAYS EuroCup Rising Star Trophy winner for this season. Fan voting and Euroleague Basketball’s in-house experts will select the All-7DAYS EuroCup teams, as well as the 7DAYS EuroCup MVP.