Pablo Prigioni will continue in the NBA but will face the challenge of leading the Argentine national team. Photo: CAB Press.
Paolo Prigioni was confirmed as the new coach of the Argentine basketball team after Néstor’s controversial split That Garcia. This was confirmed by the official account of the Argentine Confederation of Basketball on its social networks.
“Pablo Prigioni becomes the new coach of the Men’s Senior National Team for the AmeriCup and the FIBA windows”, reads the message, which denotes the transfer of the former Golden Generation to Recife, where he will make his debut against Virgin Islands. It will then continue in November and February with the last qualifying windows for the 2023 FIBA World Championships in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
“My feeling with the national team is very great, as well as my commitment to this group. The Argentina shirt is the most important thing. We are focused, staff and players, to give the best of each of us in the tournament that awaits us, ”he said in the statements published by the CAB.
“Pablo is an example of improvement and permanent evolution. He has had a growing career as a player and for a long time remained in major world competitions. I have no doubt that his coaching career in the national team will be the continuation of his constant professional development, “said Fabián Borro, president of the CAB.
As a member of the “Golden Generation” of Argentine basketball, Prigioni was part of the squad that won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, among other successes. With an exceptional stint as a player in Europe and the NBA, the 45-year-old manager from Cordoba will make his debut as head coach of a national team.
After retiring as a player, he was coach of the Spanish Baskonia and assistant in the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves (a position he currently holds and which he will keep alternating with that of the Albiceleste team).
Prigioni will be joined by the AmeriCup by Gonzalo Garcia, Leonardo Gutierrez and Guido Fabbris as assistants.
What happened to Garcia?
The rumor had been circulating for a few hours, but confirmation arrived on Tuesday evening. The Argentine Confederation of Basketball (CAB) has announced the dismissal as coach of Néstor Che García, who has not even boarded the plane to travel to Brazil, where the Albiceleste team will play the AmeriCup.
“The Argentine Confederation of Basketball announces the exemption of Néstor García from the position of coach of the men’s senior national team”, reads the statement.
“Che verbally anticipated his departure, for privacy reasons that we respect, and was not part of the delegation that went to Brazil this Tuesday afternoon to play the AmeriCup,” he added.
The That had taken up the challenge of generational change in a national team that came from second position at the 2019 World Cup and had closed the trial of Sergio Oveja Hernández at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
It debuted in the FIBA showcases that paved the way for the 2023 World Cup in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. Overall, she directed eight games, with six wins and two losses. On Monday night he had been head of the team in Mar del Plata, where Argentina beat the Bahamas to recover from the defeat of days ago against Canada, as a guest.
It was a surprise for the environment, especially as the rest of his coaching staff will continue. The AmeriCup, which will be played in Recife, sees him framed in group B together with the Virgin Islands – his debut rival next Saturday -, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
That García had already had a spell with the Argentine national team in 2012, when he became the South American champion. In his career he also led the national teams of Venezuela, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. At the team level, there were 31 live shows of him, distinguishing himself in Argentina with Peñarol de Mar del Plata (champion of the 1994 National League) and San Lorenzo (champion of the Super 20 in 2019).
Source: Clarin
