River Lions staying the course at coach, GM positions
Victor Raso back for third season as Niagara pro hoops team’s general manager and head coach
Victor Raso, the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s coach of the year in its inaugural season, has a chance to repeat that feat in 2021.
The Niagara River Lions announced Tuesday they are bringing back the 30-year-old Hamilton native for a third season as the team’s general manager and head coach.
River Lions president Jeffrey Sotiriou called staying the course at the head position a “no-brainer.”
“Over the last several years, Victor has been instrumental in the success of the River Lions, on and off the court,” Sotiriou said.
“We have full confidence in him leading the team once again.”
Raso, who captured a Canadian men’s university championship with Carleton in 2013 and 2014 before becoming an assistant coach on the team, has been with the River Lions since 2017 when he served as the lead assistant to his father, Joe, now the league’s director of basketball operations.
In 2019, the younger Raso was promoted to head coach after the St. Catharines-based pro team moved to the CEBL, a spring-summer league, from the fall-winter National Basketball League of Canada. Since taking over as bench boss, he has compiled a 17-11 record, including going 2-5 as the host team at the 2020 CEBL Summer Series last August at Meridian Centre.
“We didn’t accomplish our goals in 2020, but we’ve been working tirelessly to make sure we fix that for 2021,” Raso said. “We have a unique situation in Niagara that allows us to be the best place for professional basketball players to help grow their game and grow as people.”
It was also announced Antwi Atuahene will be back as assistant general manager after joining the team for the Summer Series.
Atuahene has been a big help in player recruitment. Atuahene, Raso said, is well-respected and well-connected in basketball circles throughout North America.
“Bringing in Antwi has been game-changing for us and, more specifically, myself,” the head coach added. “We work together very well, we’re both very hungry to be successful and build something special in Niagara.
“He brings the best out of me.”