ESP - Spain appoint Perez as women's coach

MADRID (National team) - Spain have named Evaristo Perez as coach of the women's national side.

Perez, the coach Liga Femenina side Arranz Jopisa Burgos, is on the verge of leading that team into the play-offs with 14 wins and eight defeats and Spanish Basketball Federation president Jose Luis Saez firmly believes he is the right man for the job.

"Evaristo responds to the coach’s profile that we were looking for," Saez said.

"He great experience and is doing a great job with his current club."

The position had been vacant since November, when the federation and former coach Domingo Diaz agreed to part ways.

The 46-year-old Perez takes over a side that is loaded with talent and experience and is looking forward to the new challenge with his first major tournament coming up later this year when the EuroBasket Women is staged in Italy.

"I am really enthusiastic about working with the national team with competitive players and now I want to respond to the confidence placed in me by the federation,” he said.

"At a professional level and personal level, this appointment allows me to achieve an aim."

His coaching style, he believes, will be attractive for fans.

"When coaching I always try to find balance in every aspect, whether it be on offense or defense, or tactics and technique," he said.

"I point towards dynamic and fast basketball.

"I want my teams to maintain a high rhythm of play, and intense play."

Spain captured bronze at the last two EuroBaskets, and played at the Athens Olympics and FIBA World Championships.

"Our aim at the EuroBasket is to finish among the top five teams in order to achieve a place for the pre-Olympics," he said.

Cindy Garcia-Bennett
FIBA