TORONTO (Canada) – Both Canada Basketball and Victor Lapena have mutually agreed to part ways, which means the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 was his last at the helm of the national side. The Spaniard departs having held the coaching reins for 27 games and now leaves with a 17-10 record in FIBA competitions, having been installed during January 2022.
He led the team to a bronze medal at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2023 and most memorably to the Semi-Finals at the flagship FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney. However, Lapena was unable to guide Canada to a victory in the French capital this year and they left the Games with three defeats on their tournament sheet.
He is currently with EuroLeague Women 2025 title hopefuls CBK Mersin and that is where both parties have agreed he will now focus on. The Turkish clubs are hugely ambitious and are stocked with some stellar European names including the likes of Marine Johannes, Marine Fauthoux, Yvonne Anderson and Iliana Rupert.
"On behalf of the Senior Women’s National Team and our Women’s High Performance program, I’d like to thank Victor for his efforts in leading our team," stated Denise Dignard, General Manager and Executive Vice-President, Women's High Performance.
"The organization would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Victor and his family for their dedication and sacrifice over the last several years and wish them all the best in the future," she added. Canada Basketball is in the process of assessing its training and competition calendar, as well as its player and coach development strategies for the next four-year cycle in the lead-up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. They have stated they will use that process to recruit a new head coach.
FIBA