ZARAGOZA (Spain) - Julie Barennes has been rewarded for taking Basket Landes to unprecedented heights and their best-ever season by being crowned EuroLeague Women Coach of the Year.
Defying pre-season expectations, the French underdogs made a fairytale run to to the Quarter-Finals as they stepped at the Final Six for the first time.
With their strong team basketball ethos and also helped by some incredible fan support, Barennes and Landes caught the eye during the First Round of the Regular Season.
They finished 4-2 to take pole position in a challenging group containing Casademont Zaragoza, CIMSA CBK Mersin and Umana Reyer Venezia.
Continuing the Second Round in a similar vein, their eventual 8-4 Regular Season record saw them claim a ticket to the Semi-Final Play-Ins and their maiden Final Six.
While hopes were high that they might even be able to step to the last four of the competition, their run was ended in the Quarter-Finals by Casademont Zaragoza.
Barennes collected the Coach of the Year honors ahead of finalists Roberto Iniguez (Spar Girona) and Andrea Mazzon (Umana Reyer Venezia), following a combined vote of EuroLeague Women coaches, players, selected media and fans.
The award was presented by FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani and FIBA Hall of Famer Natalia Hejkova.
FIBA