Víctor Arteaga is no longer a player for Río Breogán. The Galician club announced on Saturday the departure of the center, thanking him for his work and effort and wishing him luck in his new professional chapter.
An agreement with an expiration date from the start
It's worth explaining the nature of the deal clearly, because it wasn't that of a roster player. Arteaga joined on August 14 with a specific objective: to help the team during absences caused by international commitments of several players, both in training and in the first preseason games.
With Mavra, Brankovic, and Kasibabu back from their national teams and with the roster now complete, that role no longer made sense. That's why the departure comes now, with the team about to play the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League in Bulgaria.
He delivered more than expected
He wasn't just a body to fill out training sessions. Arteaga had standout moments in the friendlies, with his best night in Pontevedra against Real Madrid: 19 points and 10 rebounds, the best rebounding total of that game, in the light blue victory 110-102. He also made an impact in the paint in the win over KK Mega Basket at the Pazo.
For a player who came to lend a hand for a few weeks, that performance was an extra.
Who he is and what comes next
A 34-year-old from Cuenca standing 2.13 meters tall, Arteaga is a veteran with a long trajectory in the elite: Real Madrid B, Valladolid, CEBA Guadalajara, Murcia, Força Lleida, Estudiantes, MoraBanc Andorra, and Breogán itself, with whom he already played the 2022-23 season averaging 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 28 Liga Endesa games.
In recent seasons he has competed in Primera FEB with Hestia Menorca, where last season he posted 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 36 games, with a stint also in Mexican basketball. This was, moreover, his third stint with the light blue club, after the preseason in 2021 and that full campaign.