By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following five losses in a row across all competitions since October 17, Baskonia fired Joan Penarroya and picked up Dusko Ivanovic as the new head coach.
Penarroya, 54, was rumored to be on the hot seat over recent weeks. Recently updating his status with the Basque Country outfit, he committed to keep working hoping to snap the losing streak, ‘as long as I have a job’. However, he was released from his contract and subsequently replaced by Ivanovic, as announced by the team on Monday.
Baskonia emerged as the third team to sack its head coach since the official tipoff of the 2023-24 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Apart from Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet switching from Ivanovic to Giannis Sfairopoulos and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne going from T.J. Parker to Gianmarco Pozzecco, Virtus Segafredo Bologna parted ways with Sergio Scariolo and hired Luca Banchi shortly before Round 1 of the Regular Season. The coaching carousel opens earlier than usual and with numerous spins.
Ivanovic, 66, became the first of the aforementioned departing play-callers returning to Europe’s premier club continental competition. He inked a contract for the remainder of the season to launch his fourth coaching stint with Baskonia.
All three previous stints were highlighted by winning the ACB championship once, specifically in 2002, 2010, and 2020. Under his guidance, the Vitoria-Gasteiz outlet also lifted the Copa del Rey four times and captured the domestic Supercup once. Overall, he is behind approximately 57% of championships won in team history.