By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
MoraBanc Andorra released Oriol Pauli, the team announced Sunday.
After the relegation to LEB Oro and FC Barcelona coming in to reclaim the Girona-born forward, the involved parties agreed to the early termination of their contract. In 2020, Pauli penned a three-year contract to join Andorra.
Barca was nearing a deal with the player, as reported by Mundo Deportivo earlier in July. The hurdle to overcome was the contract, now broken upon mutual agreement instead leads Pauli back to Barcelona.
Pauli, 28, is a product of the Barcelona youth teams. He turned pro at Barca B and spent three seasons playing in Spain’s second division before shifting to Herbalife Gran Canaria in 2014. After six years at the team based in the Canary Islands and logging 29 games played in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in 2018-19, his lone campaign in the premier club continental competition of Europe, he joined Andorra.
In 2021-22, Pauli upped his total of appearances in the 7DAYS EuroCup to 100. Averaging 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 0.7 steals per game helped his side reach the Semifinals. Tallying 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.9 steals per contest in Spain’s Liga Endesa failed to stay clear of the relegation zone.
The Catalonia powerhouse headed by Lithuanian tactician Sarunas Jasikevicius completed the additions of Oscar da Silva, Nikola Kalinic, Tomas Satoransky, Mike Tobey, and Jan Vesely during the offseason. Returning players include Alex Abrines, Rokas Jokubaitis, Kyle Kuric, Nicolas Laprovittola, Nikola Mirotic, and Sertac Sanli.
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