By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Hereda San Pablo Burgos will arrive in Athens to strive for greatness this September, with coach Joan Penarroya at the helm of the bench. The underdogs of the competition went from the bottom-tier of the ACB League to their first Basketball Champions League experience and the quarterfinals of the competition, all in the course of one season, after the arrival of Penarroya.
Penarroya, who joined Burgos’ bench last season, would turn out to lead the team to a success previously unknown for the Spanish club. Burgos rose from the bottom-tier of the ACB League to being the 2019-20 ACB semifinalists and made it to the Final Eight stage of Basketball Champions League in their inaugural season. However, the “Penarroya effect” is not really news; it counts back to over a decade in Spain.
The successful tenure in Andorra
At 51, Penarroya already counts over a decade of experience in the ACB, with a long tenure in Andorra (2010-2018), during which he led the club from the LEB to the ACB League. A shapeshifter that he is, he helped the club win the LEB in the 2013-14 season, to seal a ticket to the first division the following year. Andorra finished in the 14th position in its first two appearances but had a breakthrough season during the 2016-17 campaign, where they made it to the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals, for the first time since 1994-95.
Barcelona native Penarroya would eventually lead Andorra to its first EuroCup participation in 2017, where the club made it through the regular season, with a 3-7 record, before biding the club an emotional goodbye to set sails for a new venture.
Manresa and the takeoff with Burgos
His path crossed with Burgos after a season with Manresa, where he spent the 2018-19 campaign – in the club’s return to the ACB. Penarroya recently penned a contract extension with Burgos through the 2020-21 season, with hopes to provide enough continuity to the club to remain in the elite of Spanish basketball.
Following Burgos’ success in the 2019-20 campaign, Penarroya’s stocks in the market were greatly benefited, as he has been reportedly on the radars of top-class European clubs, such as Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. Despite these tempting offers, he opted for a contract extension with Burgos, with an aim to reinforce his squad even more.
“I am happy that the clubs notice me. It is true that there have been options to leave, but I did not choose them. It’s not the moment. I came to Burgos with the purpose of growing with the club and that continues to be my wish”, he stated in an interview with Diario De Burgos earlier this summer.
Burgos Sports director Albano Martínez showed trust to Penarroya in the team planning for next season, and this resulted in many new faces. The additions of Alex Renfroe, former BCL champion Dejan Kravic, Xavi Rabaseda, plus contract extensions on the team’s pillars such as Thad McFadden, all set up a picture for more expectations. As Penarroya admitted in a recent interview, the biggest bet in these new alignments will be chemistry. And the club is building it early on in the season, as the new ACB campaign tipped off last week.
The ACB establishment and the BCL challenge
The 51-year-old coach had all eyes on him during the ACB Final Tournament in June, as Burgos was called to establish its place in uncharted territories. Indeed, they did, by making it to the ACB semifinals of the season, for the first time in the club’s history. There they would eventually face Barcelona’s star-squad that would put an end to their season in Spain, with a positive takeout and a challenge for the next one.
The impact of Burgos’ success under Penarroya also shows in the number of attendees during the past season, prior to the pandemic that caused games to be played behind closed doors. Burgos counted 113,258 spectators, ruling the total chart of fan attendance, above all major clubs. A fan favorite, to say the least.
Apart from the ACB, Penarroya has shaped his team in such a manner to be a valued opponent in the BCL as well. Burgos finished third in the group stage, trailing behind Hapoel Jerusalem and AEK with an 8-6 record. Their successful course went on in the Round of 16, where they eliminated Dinamo Sassari to advance to the quarterfinals.
History will now repeat itself in Athens, as Burgos is called to face a strengthened Hapoel Jerusalem for a spot in the semifinals of the competition. The two met twice during the group stage, registering a victory each, while both games went down to high scores. Penarroya’s impact on the offensive style of the team was probably the part that was lacking to compete head to head with teams that love their offensive game. In fact, Burgos currently holds the fourth-best record in BCL in points scored (86.4) and overall rebounds (39.1) and is called to face the best offensive team of the competition in the quarterfinals.
All under the guidance of well-seasoned Penarroya, who is known for his unapologetic approach to the game. “This is basketball, it’s a five vs five game, euros or dollars don’t come to play and our intention all year has been to win”, in his own words after the ACB semifinal against Barcelona.