The former Real Madrid coach, Pablo Laso, was awarded by Cadena SER in Vitoria as part of the SER gala in Álava 2022. The man from Vitoria, trained at the San Viator school, was recognized as was the filmmaker Estíbaliz Urresola, the company LEA, Edorta Lamo, gastronomic restaurateur, Iñaki Añua, in memoriam (he was director of the Vitoria Jazz Festival for many years) and the journalist Isabel Cobo. The event took place at the Europa Conference Center in the capital of Álava. Lots of guests, sponsors, institutions and radio listeners. About 250.
“I am very grateful, I did not expect it. That they remember you at home is always special. I receive this award with great joy and aware that, despite having been away from Vitoria for a long time, people continue to recognize your work ”, she assured. What’s more, he commented that “the other day they stopped me on the street and told me that they missed me because they loved how my teams played. And I was in Cádiz so… imagine”. Laso suffered a heart attack last year but he is in good health and He is always seen smiling and relaxed, at least in a family environment as is the case.
The coach was accompanied by his wife, Virginia Careaga, the president of the Basque Federation, Luis Mari Sautu, and the president of Alavesa, Luismi Corres. Analyzing his future, he said that “I want to train but I still don’t know when I will do it. With wishes but no dates. I’m in no hurry to do it but, at one point, I can’t deny that I would start working tomorrow. When I watch games I miss it but I am also clear that you have to know how to choose the moment and the place. Let it be good for the club and for me”.
He did not want to give clues or talk about his possible landing in Athens to lead Panathinaikos. “Things will be known when they have to be known”, he explained. “I feel a little weird because, since I was sixteen, I’ve been moving around,” she explained. He has sounded for the Red Star, some Russian team, Maccabi, the Israel team and the PAO but now he is dedicating himself to his family, something he owed them. As for the current situation, he said that “it doesn’t surprise me that the Euroleague is so even because, As there are no Russian teams, the great players that were there have been distributed among all the other teams”. The coach from Alava continues to be the coach of the Euskadi team, which has not played friendly matches for a long time. Between the pandemic and calendars, it is difficult to find dates.
Del Baskonia commented that “Joan Peñarroya is doing a great job and the team plays well and engages. People leave Buesa happy even though they have lost the game and that is a good sign, ”he said convinced. Pablo Laso Biurrun (Vitoria, 55 years old) has won 28 titles, two Euroleagues, six ACB leagues, six Copas del Rey, seven Super Cups, to which we must add that he has managed to be the best ACB coach five times and twice the most outstanding coach in the Euroleague. He played as a player for Baskonia, Real Madrid, Cáceres, Trieste, Unicaja, Girona, Lleida and Valladolid. Already being a coach, at Amics del Bàsquet, Valencia, Cantabria, GBC and Real Madrid, where he has achieved his greatest achievements.
He also winked at the NBA. “You will never be able to say who is the best player in history. Each era is different and they cannot be compared with each other because the courts, the dimensions, the rules, the materials have changed and nothing is the same. In theory, the best ones are the ones of now because it is assumed that, with the passage of time, everything improves. It’s not going to get worse, is it? Everyone talks about Michael Jordan but, for example, the one I really fell in love with was Stockton. The finals that I venerate are those of those years, that is the memory that I have in my mind. That does not mean that I do not now enjoy watching the NBA, LeBron or Curry, ”he concluded.