By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia has officially announced the addition of Pablo Prigioni to the team. The 39 years old player had expressed his wish to play for the club again and he insisted that Baskonia would be the only club to make him return to Spain!
The Argentinian/Italian guard has spent two eras of his career in the club. He first joined from 2003 to 2009, when the team was named Tau Ceramica, then he returned for the 2011-12 season before going to the NBA the following one.
After a prosperous time overseas with the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers, the player decided to make his comeback to Spain, where he should feel familiar as ever, as he has also played also for Real Madrid and Fuenlabrada.
Prigioni (1.90 meters, 39 years old) started his career with Obras Sanitarias in his native Argentina and played for two Spanish clubs, Fuenlabrada and Lucentum Alicante, before joining Baskonia in 2003. He helped the club reach four consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours, which remains the longest such run for any club in Europe other than CSKA Moscow since the format became a standard in 1988, and to play the title game in 2005.
With Baskonia, Prigioni won a Spanish League title in 2008 and lifted three Copa del Rey trophies in 2004, 2006 – when his 15 assists the final earned him MVP honors – and 2009. Prigioni has also played for Real Madrid, reaching another EuroLeague Final Four in 2011. He ranks fifth in assists in the EuroLeague’s all-time list (798) and is third in steals (320). Prigioni has also been very successful with the Argentinean national team, winning an Olympic bronze medal in 2008, four medals in the FIBA Americas championship, as well as gold medals at the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball and the 2004 South American Championship.