Joan Peñarroya, new coach of Partizan

Spanish coach Joan Peñarroya, Barça coach until November 9, became the new coach of Serbian Partizan this Tuesday, replacing Zeljko Obradovic, according to a team statement.

“Joan Peñarroya is the new coach of Partizan Mozzart Bet. The former Barcelona coach arrived in Belgrade last night, and will take over as head of the coaching staff of the ‘black and white’ team starting this Tuesday,” read the entity’s statement.

The 56-year-old Spanish coach has so far coached the teams of Barcelona, ​​Baskonia, Valencia Basket, Manresa, Burgos and Andorra. With the Burgos team, Peñarroya won the FIBA ​​Champions twice (2020 and 2021), as well as the FIBA ​​Intercontinental Cup.

The man from Terrassa was dismissed as Barça coach on November 9, after holding the position since the summer of 2024, after not winning any title or reaching any final. The Blaugrana club, now under the leadership of Xavi Pascual, made the decision after the defeat (96-78) against Girona in the Endesa League and after also losing in the Euroleague against Real Madrid at home (92-101), which was the ninth consecutive defeat in a Classic.

Along with Peñarroya, who will make his debut on the Partizan bench this Friday against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Belgrade, Uros Dragicevic, former director of the Fuenlabrada Academy and former member of the Monaco coaching staff, joined the coaching staff as an assistant.

Peñarroya’s announcement came accompanied by the signing of American guard Cameron Payne, 31, until the end of the season. In the NBA, he played for the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With 549 games in the NBA, including 72 in the ‘Playoffs’, the veteran point guard signed for the 2025-26 season with the Indiana Pacers, but was released before the start of the regular season.