If Aito decides to leave, ALBA has plan B in place / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Imago Scanpix Credit Imago Scanpix

ALBA is still waiting for Aito Garcia Reneses to decide on his future, whether he wants to stay with German champions the following season. If not, ALBA already has a plan B.

If 74-year-old Reneses steps down, Israel Gonzalez, the associate head coach of ALBA, will replace Aito at the helm, sources tell BasketNews.

"Nothing has been decided yet, but it gets more difficult every year," Himar Ojeda, a sports director of ALBA, told BZ and Bild. "Most recently, after two years as a coach, he often took a one-year break to regenerate. He's been with ALBA for four years now. Maybe he needs a break."

Reneses told Julian Felipo from Mundo Deportivo that he needed rest and still hadn't decided whether to continue with ALBA.

"They want me to continue, but on the other hand, Israel Gonzalez is perfectly prepared to lead the team and, in any case, things will continue to work," Mundo Deportivo quotes Reneses.

Credit Imago Scanpix

ALBA already had a few significant changes since Jayson Granger, Niels Giffey, Peyton Siva, and Simone Fontecchio left Berlin.

Aito has worked in the capital of Germany since 2017. With Reneses, ALBA won two consecutive Bundesliga titles from 2020. The most experienced EuroLeague coach also won the German Cup in 2020 and took his team to the EuroCup finals in 2019.

Aito was a key to ALBA's identity of free-flowing team basketball with exceptional game plan ideas.

Gonzalez, 46, has worked with Aito since 2017. He has no head coaching experience, except replacing Aito due to personal reasons in a few ALBA games in the previous seasons. Gonzalez is known for hard work and deserved complete trust from the front office. Also, he is a massive fan of Aito's basketball philosophy.

Previously Gonzalez worked as an assistant in Cantabria and Gran Canaria for more than a decade.

Current roster:

ALBA Berlin

Position Player Status PG Tamir Blatt(story) Signed until 2023 SG Marcus Eriksson Signed until 2023 SG Jonas Mattisseck Signed until 2023 +1 SG Stefan Peno Signed until 2023 SG Malte Delow (story) Signed until 2025 SF Louis Olinde Signeduntil 2023 PF Luke Sikma Signeduntil 2023 PF Johannes Thiemann Signed until 2024 PF Tim Schneider Signeduntil 2022 C Ben Lammers Signeduntil 2023 C Christ Koumadje Signeduntil 2023 C Kresimir Nikic Signeduntil 2024 Coach Expired contract Aito Garcia Reneses, Peyton Siva (not coming back), Maodo Lo, Jayson Granger (not coming back), Niels Giffey (not coming back) Rumored to leave Aito Garcia Reneses Interested

See all the EuroLeague transfer market newshere.

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