Bilbao re-signs Javi Salgado

RETAbet Bilbao Basket reached a new agreement with playmaker Javi Salgado to keep working together next season, the club announced Thursday. Salgado (1.83 meters, 36 years old) is set to start his 11th season with the club and has a chance to play his 400th official game with Bilbao Basket soon - he wore his team's jersey in 397 games. Salgado started his career with Baloncesto Leon but joined Bilbao, his hometown team, in 2001. He helped Bilbao to go all the way from the Spanish third division to reaching back-to-back 7DAYS EuroCup semifinals in 2009 and 2010. He left in 2010 and played for Gipuzkoa Basket and Movistar Estudiantes before returning to the club last season. In 35 EuroCup career games with Bilbao, Salgado has averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 assists. "I am very happy to stay in Bilbao Basket, in my city, for one more year. I played here for many years and had the luck to play with very important players," Salgado said after the agreemente. "We have to fit all the pieces in the puzzle and see if our mix of young and veteran players works well. We have a lot of new faces and will have to work very hard, especially in pre-season, to be a solid group as soon as possible."