Pablo Laso returned home on Wednesday, the time to give explanations about his return to Baskonia and his plans in Vitoria. The successful coach signed a three-year contract, an unusual one for the blue-and-red club, and although he seemed relaxed today, he confessed that it was the first press conference in which he got nervous. Laso, happy to return 29 years after he left Baskonia as a player, said he does not feel pressure in this new stage, or that, if there is, it is something he has been living with for a long time. “When I played the first game with the team, a guy in the stands told me that I was there because I was from Vitoria. I already had pressure then, and I was a kid,” so, “I am not so much of a kid anymore and I accept the pressure, any coach in any sport lives with that pressure.”
Both Pablo Laso and Baskonia’s sporting director, Félix Fernández, preferred not to give too many details about how the signing came about. “We are here because we believe that it is the right time for both of us,” said the coach, who gave some clues: “There is a moment in which I am clear that it was better for Bayern and for me to separate paths and I think that Baskonia’s management is magnificent in that regard.” It was a path of conversations between the two parties, which began relatively recently. “A month and a half ago I was preparing the last match to win the German League. If someone talks to me about Baskonia then, I don’t even answer them.”
Now settled back in Vitoria, Pablo Laso is focused on working in the best conditions so that Baskonia can get going again. “Let no one doubt that we will try to make the best team possible,” he said, and when talking about names, Markus Howard came up. “If I say that he is the best player in the Euroleague I might be killing him,” he said, “but he is different, a player committed to the fans and the team. A Bayern player told me that he had never seen anything like that. He was kicking the ball with his ass.” Chima Moneke also appeared. “He is very good, he got Manresa into the Euroleague. playoffhas played in the NBA. They are both very good,” he said. “On July 3, I am delighted to have both of them on my team.”
Laso responded to how he has seen Baskonia in the 29 years he has been away from Vitoria, and how he himself has evolved. “The club has changed a lot. The growth is enormous,” he said. “It has won leagues, cups, it has competed in Europe.” And he joked: “My performance has not been bad either, I am not complaining.” And the fact is that Laso, who was Real Madrid coach for 11 seasons in which he won 22 titles and who left the white club after suffering a heart problem two years ago, is, by record, the most successful player in Europe in the last ten or fifteen years.
The daily grind that devours professional teams will soon begin, but Laso is not making plans: “I don’t like to set myself long-term challenges. The goal is that, in three years, people will say that Baskonia has done well with me, and I will be happy, but right now I don’t know who we are going to play against in the first preseason match, and what I want is to win that match.” He added: “I am very excited. It is a challenge and a responsibility for me, but that excitement makes you feel calm. I am coming home and I am very happy.”
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