Spain basketball coach quits silver medallists

Spain coach Aito Garcia Reneses has stepped down from his post after leading the world champions to silver at the Beijing Olympics last weekend, the Spanish Basketball Federation said. "I am grateful for the opportunity the Federation president gave me...

Spain coach Aito Garcia Reneses has stepped down from his post after leading the world champions to silver at the Beijing Olympics last weekend, the Spanish Basketball Federation said.

"I am grateful for the opportunity the Federation president gave me to direct the team at the Olympics, but I want to train throughout the season, not just for two months a year," Garcia Reneses said on the federation website yesterday.

Spain lost 118-107 to the United States in a thrilling Olympic basketball final in Beijing on Sunday.

Garcia Reneses had only been in the post three months after being brought in to replace Pepu Hernandez, who was sacked at the beginning of June.

The 61-year-old exercised a get-out clause in his contract and has been linked in the media with a return to club management in the Spanish league.

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