Pedro Martinez has made history! On Tuesday, the Spanish coach became the first to win both the EuroCup Coach of the Year (2017) and the Euroleague Coach of the Year titles. He previously achieved the EuroCup honor while leading Valencia, transforming them into the surprise team of that season. Martinez surpasses Tomas Masiulis (Zalgiris Kaunas), Georgios Bartzokas (Olympiakos), and Saras Jasikevicius (Fenerbahce), whom he succeeds in this prestigious award.
Without standout individual stars, much like Paris Basketball last year, Martinez and Valencia defied expectations throughout the Euroleague. The Valencian team concluded the regular season with an impressive record of 25 wins and 13 losses. They are set to face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Panathinaikos and Monaco in the first round of the playoffs.
Regarding his coach, Neal Sako, the Iberian club’s center, shared insights with Maxi-Basket:
“He’s a coach with a very modern playing philosophy. We heavily rely on transition offense and three-point shooting. We aim to play very fast. He has a lot of experience, and he’s surely had to evolve his vision of what he demands from his teams, as he was coaching twenty years ago, in an era when no one played like us.”
English Translation:
Pedro Martinez has made history! On Tuesday, the Spanish coach became the first to win both the EuroCup Coach of the Year (2017) and the Euroleague Coach of the Year titles. He previously achieved the EuroCup honor while leading Valencia, transforming them into the surprise team of that season. Martinez surpasses Tomas Masiulis (Zalgiris Kaunas), Georgios Bartzokas (Olympiakos), and Saras Jasikevicius (Fenerbahce), whom he succeeds in this prestigious award.
Without standout individual stars, much like Paris Basketball last year, Martinez and Valencia defied expectations throughout the Euroleague. The Valencian team concluded the regular season with an impressive record of 25 wins and 13 losses. They are set to face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Panathinaikos and Monaco in the first round of the playoffs.
Regarding his coach, Neal Sako, the Iberian club’s center, shared insights with Maxi-Basket:
“He’s a coach with a very modern playing philosophy. We heavily rely on transition offense and three-point shooting. We aim to play very fast. He has a lot of experience, and he’s surely had to evolve his vision of what he demands from his teams, as he was coaching twenty years ago, in an era when no one played like us.”
