French League champion Limoges CSP began to prepare its return to the top competition in Europe next season by inking veteran center Joao Paulo Batista to a two-year deal on Monday. Batista (2.04 meters, 32 years old) arrives from Le Mans Sarthe Basket, where he has played the last six seasons. He averaged 10.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10 Eurocup games last season and was MVP when Le Mans won the French Leaders Cup. Batista also lifted the French Cup and the Semaine des As trophies with Le Mans in 2009 and helped the team reach the French League final in 2010 and 2012. He has also played for Barons LMT Riga in Latvia and Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius in Lithuania, his first professional team after finishing his college career at Gonzaga University. Batista won the Latvian League and the FIBA EuroCup titles with Barons in 2008, as well as lifting the Baltic League trophy and reaching the ULEB Cup title game with L. Rytas in 2007. Batista has also been a member of the Brazilian national team, which he helped to win the 2009 FIBA Americas title and lift the 2010 South American championship trophy. Batista played two previous Euroleague seasons, 2007-08 with Lietuvos Rytas and 2008-09 with Le Mans, averaging 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 21 games.