Cartagena basketball sends a notice to sailors with the signing of Jordi Juste. The 44-year-old Catalan coach arrives at Odilo FC Cartagena CB with the clear intention of leading a project that is among the candidates for promotion to the second category: LEB Oro. The coach caressed that feat with Navarra, the team he led the last two seasons to the grand finale. Sign until 2025.
Studious, methodical and with more than two decades linked to basketball, Juste was a player, sports director and coach in Spain as well as in Serbia, Sweden, Ireland and Finland. It was in the 2019/20 season when he really carved out a niche for himself as one of the most outstanding coaches in LEB Plata, taking Navarra to the grand final on up to two occasions, despite being part of a fairly high-level conference.
In 2021, the Catalan was precisely the executioner of Cebé Cartagena in the promotion playoffs. In the first round, Navarra won both games in the tie and reached the final. There he was very close to glory, when he fell against Ourense in a tight tie. This season, Juste’s Navarra once again reaffirmed itself as one of the serious candidates for LEB Oro, by achieving 16 victories in 26 games in the complicated Western Conference.
Cornellá and Zornotza were the rivals they beat in the promotion phase to repeat their presence in the final. But a few weeks ago, however, Juste and his Navarra returned to stay at the gates of LEB Oro when they fell fairly against Prat: 71-91 and 100-73. Last night, the Navarrese club made the change of cycle official with heartfelt words to Juste’s work.
This coach, at least in theory, can place Cebé as a candidate to fight for that promotion. In the two previous seasons, as recently promoted to the category, the Albinegros never got past the first of the three qualifiers to go up. Juste guaranteed in Navarra the classification without problems for the ‘playoff’, in addition to two finals.
The Catalan replaces Gustavo Aranzana, who allowed the club to grow by leaps and bounds on his return to professional basketball. El Cebé wants to renew Juanpe Jiménez, Sediq Garuba and Johan Kody as the basis for a 2023/24 season that has already started.
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