By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia has officially announced that Pierria Henry will not be part of the team, at least temporarily, until the procedure of the examination of a routine doping control on the player is completed.
Per Baskonia and the player, the test is not positive, however, they both agreed on the temporary suspension of their work relationship until the end of the procedure.
In a joint press release, the player and the club announced: “On the occasion of carrying out a routine anti-doping control on the player Pierriá Henry, part of the FIBA authorities have proceeded to agree on the opening of a case on the player and the provisional suspension of his license until its resolution.
Both the filed case and the agreed suspension do not derive from the fact that the player has given a positive result in the anti-doping control for prohibited substances, but rather derive from the process.
Given that the provisional suspension of the player’s license will be maintained as long as the aforementioned file is not completed, Saski Baskonia and Mr. Pierriá Henry have agreed to temporarily suspend the existing contract between both parties until the conclusion of the examination of his file, and while the provisional suspension lasts, trusting in a prompt and satisfactory resolution under a regular timeframe.
Any news on the matter will be notified in a timely manner”.
Out since the start of January
Henry, 30, sat out the last four outings between the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and Spain’s Liga Endesa. The team coached by Joan Penarroya went 1-3 in the stretch without the explosive guard, in the process slipping away from the top of the standings in both continental and domestic competitions.
Initially, it was announced that the issue holding him back was a muscular discomfort in his right calf.
It should be noted, however, that Baskonia is already in the market searching for a replacement and there were reports about the club’s interest in Bonn’s TJ Shorts.
It’s not easy to replace Henry, not only because of his abilities but also because he holds a Senegalese passport, permitting him to compete in the domestic Spanish competitions on a special status due to the COTONU agreement.
Simply put, Henry can be replaced by Baskonia in the domestic Spanish competitions only with a player who holds a European passport, or an African passport from a country that is included in the COTONU agreement.
Before rejoining Baskonia, Henry inked a deal with the Houston Rockets but was waived before the start of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season. Back overseas and in familiar territory, Henry recorded 13 appearances in EuroLeague tallying 9.9 points, 6.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per contest. Also, he put in 7.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game in Spain’s Liga Endesa.