Unexpected turn of events: 39-year-old Rafa Martinez is not retiring after all / News - Basketnews.com

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After playing his 23rd season in the Spanish Liga ACB with BAXI Manresa, Rafa Martinez was planning on retiring. However, the guard plans to continue playing for at least one more year.

Rafa Martinez

Position:PG, SGAge:39Height:190 cmWeight:82 kgBirth place:Barcelona, SpainProfileNewsStatistics

The ACB League came out with a video, where Martinez's ex-coaches, teammates, and opponents congratulated him on an amazing career and wished him good luck in life after basketball.

Surprisingly, at the end of the video, Martinez made an appearance and informed his colleagues that he wasn't going to retire just yet and would continue playing for at least one more season.

Martinez had already announced his retirement in the summer of 2019. However, he came back and had been playing ever since.

The 1.90 m guard started his career in 1998 after signing with his current team, Manresa, and competing in the EuroLeague that season.

Martinez spent the majority of his career representing Valencia Basket. He was a member of the team for 11 years - from 2008 until 2019. The veteran helped his team raise the EuroCup in 2013 and the Spanish Championship Cup in 2017.

He averaged 6.6 points (43.8% from three), 1.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 5.9 EFF over 14.8 minutes in Spain last season.

Manresa will compete in the Basketball Champions League next season. The Spanish squad is part of Group B, where they will face Arged Bmslam Stal, Hapoel Jerusalem, and Pinar Karsiyaka.

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