RETAbet Bilbao Basket announced that Veljko Mrsic would be its new head coach on Monday hours after it dismissed Carles Duran from the same position. Mrsic, 46, spent the previous two seasons with Cedevita Zagreb in his native Croatia, which he led to back-to-back Croatian League and Cup doubles. He has also coached Split and Cibona in Croatia and Varese in Italy. As a player, Mrsic enjoyed a storied career that included stops with Spanish sides Unicaja Malaga, with which he won the 2001 Korac Cup, and Girona. He is expected in Bilbao on Tuesday.
RETAbet's board of directors terminated Duran's contract earlier in the day. In an official statement, RETAbet wished "the best of luck" to Duran, "a great professional who has represented our club with pride at all times". Duran, 41, led Bilbao to a 1-5 record in the 7DAYS EuroCup and a 3-6 record in the Spanish League. It was his second experience as a EuroCup head coach, as he previously led Valencia Basket in 2015.