League newcomers Essex Pirates are thrilled to announce Spanish forward Pablo Rodrigo as their first signing for the forthcoming 2009/10 BBL campaign.
The 23 year old will swap Spain for Southend having played in LEB Bronze with CB Navalcarnero where he averaged 10.5 points and 5 rebounds per game.
Head Coach Tim Lewis is delighted with his new recruit and is predicting a bright future for Rodrigo.
"Pablo is a young and hungry Spanish player who we are excited to bring to the UK."
"He has started games in LEB Bronze and performed really well which we feel will give him a good grounding for playing in the BBL."
"He is really eager to come and prove himself in a new environment, to learn the language and improve his game abroad."
"He is the one foreign player that we have decided to bring to the club and to try and develop. We think he can make an impact."
"Pablo is a four or five spot player who can also step out and shoot the ball really well. The key for us is definitely his age and that he has a lot of potential."
While Rodrigo is the first player to be announced for the Pirates, Lewis has revealed the club are continuing to work overtime to put together a team that can compete during their rookie BBL season.
"We are obviously working hard to make sure we get a good group of guys together and in respect of Pablo, we think he can shine with a few more experienced guys around him."
"This is a critical time for us and we will be making announcements soon on the other players that we are currently looking to bring in but we are confident we will put a team on the floor that can compete."
Source: www.bbl.org.uk
