By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Hereda San Pablo Burgos released head coach Salva Maldonado, the team announced Monday morning.
Maldonado, 62, had replaced Zan Tabak in November. Less than two months after his appointment as the new head coach, he left the Castilian team amid the Basketball Champions League Play-In series opposite Darussafaka.
The back-to-back BCL champions lead the best-of-three series, 1-0, thanks to the win last week. Game 2 was recently rescheduled to next Tuesday, January 18, due to multiple COVID-19 cases within Burgos.
Under the guidance of Maldonado, Burgos was limited to a 1-3 run in the ACB. Meanwhile, his side went 2-1 in the Champions League but the lone loss prevented the team from securing a direct ticket to the Round of 16. Instead, Rytas prevailing at Coliseum Burgos grabbed the top seed.
Burgos or Darussafaka will advance to the Round of 16 and join Group K along with Baxi Manresa and Tofas. NutriBullet Treviso or Lavrio Megabolt, fighting it out in another Play-In series, will also jump in the four-team group.
At the domestic level, Burgos has struggled to get things going since the beginning of the 2021-22 Regular Season. Only four wins over 15 games have forced the team to the relegation zone, ranked 17th out of the 18 teams participating in Spain’s top-tier division.
The trip to Turkey to take on Darussafaka currently is the next scheduled game. Four days later, Burgos is set to host Joventut Badalona in ACB Regular Season Round 19.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League