Pepe Sánchez (basketball player)

Juan Ignacio Sánchez (Bahía Blanca, May 8, 1977), also known as Pepe Sánchez, is a former Argentine professional basketball player and current president of the Bahía team. Basket. He was the point guard of the Argentine basketball team from 1998 to 2011. Among his main achievements are winning the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and being one of the first Argentine players to play in the NBA.

Winner of various titles and medals with his team, he was part of the group of Argentine players belonging to what was called The Golden Generation.

Biography

He started in the training categories of El Nacional, a club located near his grandmother's house in Bahía Blanca. At the age of twelve he went to play for Bahiense del Norte, where he had Emanuel Ginobili as a teammate.

At only 17 years old he was called up by coach Pablo Coleffi and moved to General Roca to be part of the Deportivo Roca team. With this club he played the 1994/95 season of the Argentine National Basketball League, occupying the position of substitute point guard for Leopoldo Ruiz Moreno. The following year he returned to his city to continue his career at Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca. That same year he received an offer from Temple University in the United States, which he accepted but not before ending his participation in the 1995/96 League.

In mid-1996 he was part of the Argentine team that played in the Pan American Youth Tournament in Puerto Rico. After the tournament he moved to Philadelphia to play for the Temple Owls university team, where he spent four years. During this period he was coached by several well-known coaches, such as John Chaney, and ranked as the second best player in steals in the NCAA. In 1998, after establishing himself as one of the best Argentine players in the youth categories, and due to his performance at Temple, he was called up for the senior team, making his debut in the Goodwill Games of the same year. Later he played in the World Cup in Athens, being called up as the team's third baseman, along with Marcelo Milanesio and Alejandro Montecchia. The 1998-99 season was key in his career, since, already established in the point guard position, he placed his team among the best eight in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Two years later he graduated from Temple University with a degree in History and was rated Best Student-Athlete.

At the end of his university career, he preferred to stay in the United States waiting to be called up by an NBA squad. Finally, the Philadelphia 76ers were the team that added him to their ranks. He made his NBA debut on October 31, 2000, at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York against the New York Knicks. Just minutes separated his first appearance on North American professional courts from the debut of his compatriot, Rubén Wolkowyski, thus becoming the first Argentine player in NBA history.

In 2001, he established himself as the starting point guard for the Argentine National Team, obtaining the gold medal in the FIBA Americas Championship of the same year. In 2002 he played in the Indianapolis World Cup, winning the silver medal. He continued his career in Europe, conquering the Euroleague playing for Panathinaikos BC of Greece in 2001-2002. He then returned to the NBA by signing with the Detroit Pistons on October 10, 2002. On August 21, 2003 he was traded to the Golden State Warriors. With the Warriors he played the preseason of the 2003-04 NBA season, but was released on October 31, 2003.

On December 4, 2003 he joined the ranks of Etosa Alicante. His play was key to avoiding the relegation of his club and due to his high performance he was named the second best point guard in the Spanish league. In 2004, he won the highest award for a player in this sport: the gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games with the Argentine National Team, being the team's starting point guard. The following three seasons he continued in Spain, playing for Unicaja Málaga, with which he won two titles: the Copa del Rey (2005) and the ACB League (2006). He was chosen & # 34; Best Latin Player & # 34; basketball 2006.^{[by whom?]}

In mid-August 2007, Sánchez signed for FC Barcelona. He finished the 2006-2007 season as the player with the most assists per game in the ACB League. He repeated as best assistant in the regular phase in the 2007-2008 season. At the beginning of July 2008, Pepe Sánchez became a free agent, since FC Barcelona decided not to renew his contract. Days later, he signed for Real Madrid. At the same time, in a controversial decision, he refused to join the Argentine National Team to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Argentina won the bronze medal and became number 1 in the FIBA ranking. On April 13, 2009, he ended his time at Real Madrid by terminating his contract after a period marked by his poor performance and his disagreements with coach Joan Plaza.

In 2010, the Konex Foundation awarded him the Konex Award - Diploma of Merit as one of the 5 best basketball players of the decade in Argentina. Starting in 2010, he formed a project together with the company Weber S.A that restructures Bahian basketball. Taking charge, together with said company, of the debts of the club from its beginnings, Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca, he formed a very competitive team in the National Basketball League, contributing from the role of player and also as leader. Bahian figures such as Juan Espil and Alejandro Montecchia joined the project, achieving great support among the citizens of his hometown.

In 2011, he was part of the Argentina basketball team that won the FIBA Americas Championship.

On March 25, 2013, he would play his last game with Bahía Basket in the 79-77 defeat against Argentino de Junín, in the Reclassification of the National League, 2012-13 season.

On January 9, 2022, as president of Bahía Basket and after the team's losses due to the coronavirus, he returned to the courts at the age of 44, achieving 12 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds in almost 29 minutes of play. The game was a victory against Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata by 91 to 87 in overtime, after equaling the regular score at 77, and was played at the Dow Center for the La Liga Argentina, the second category of basketball in Argentina. In In a conversation with the media after the game, Sánchez clarified that he had done so in part to fulfill a promise to his son that he could see him play live and that there would be "no other function," since he would return to his role as president.