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GUEST SPEAKERS
Coaches & Court Practitioners
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Ioannis Sfairopoulos - Basketball Head Coach
Across three EuroLeague clubs (Olympiacos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Crvena Zvezda), Ionnis Sfairopoulos compiled a 153–124 EuroLeague record, winning back-to-back Greek championships, three consecutive Israeli titles, and reaching two EuroLeague Final Fours.
Beyond the bench, he serves as Vice President of the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board, where he works to unite coaches, referees, players, and performance staff in open dialogue, and helped organize a Coaches Congress that drew participants from over 60 countries.
His philosophy is simple but demanding: relentless effort is non-negotiable, and within that, a continuously evolving system built around each roster's specific strengths.
Performance &
Medical Staff
Igor Jukic - ELPA-PAB, Croatian Olympic Committee High Performance Sports Center Director, U21 Croatian National Football Team S&C Coach (HR)
A professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb and Director of the High Performance Sport Center at the Croatian Olympic Committee, Igor Jukic is one of Europe's most versatile performance experts. He worked with Croatian national basketball and football teams across three EuroBaskets and a World Cup in Brazil, and spent two seasons directing the ambitious BAL high-performance system at the Baskonia-Alaves group in Spain's Basque Country. He has published over 200 scientific papers and is the president of the European Physical Conditioning Association. He serves on ELPA's Performance Advisory Board, contributing to the scientific foundation that shapes player welfare standards across European professional basketball.
Julio Calleja Gonzalez - ELPA-PAB, Professor, University of the Basque Country (ES),BC Dubai Head of Performance.
Professor of Exercise Physiology at the University of the Basque Country and Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb, Julio Calleja is one of the most prolific researchers in basketball performance science. He has served as Head of Strength & Conditioning for several Spanish National basketball teams and as a scientific consultant for professional players. Julio has worked across four continents, from post-doctoral research in London and Melbourne to consulting in the NBA. As a member of ELPA's Performance Advisory Board, he helps translate cutting-edge research into practical standards for elite players across Europe.
Francesco Cuzzolin - ELPA-PAB, Reyer Venezia Director of Performance (IT)
Francesco Cuzzolin has spent his career at the intersection of elite performance and applied science. He has worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Benetton Treviso, Virtus Bologna, and the Toronto Raptors, consulted with the Italian and Russian national teams, and most recently spent four seasons as Performance Team Coordinator at Olimpia Milano before joining Reyer Venezia in a multi-year role overseeing both the men's and women's programs. He also teaches in High Performance Master's programs in Murcia and Sevilla. As a member of ELPA's Performance Advisory Board, he bridges the gap between academic research and day-to-day practice at the professional club level.
Antonio Santo - ELPA-PAB, Real Madrid Nutritionist (IT)
Antonio Santo is a performance nutritionist for Real Madrid's basketball team. He specializes in elite basketball players across the EuroLeague and other top European competitions. As a member of ELPA's Performance Advisory Board, he contributes to the collective research and guidelines the PAB develops on nutrition, recovery, and player longevity, helping set the standard for how professional basketball approaches fueling athletes. His philosophy treats nutrition as "invisible training": the daily work that quietly determines how far an athlete goes.
Baris Kocaoglu - ELPA-PAB, MD, Professor, University of Acibadem (TR)Turkish Basketball Senior Team Doctor
Professor of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at Acibadem University's Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul, Baris Kocaoglu completed his sports medicine fellowship at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and is a board member and team doctor of the Turkish Basketball Federation. He co-edited the landmark Basketball Sports Medicine and Science reference book published with ESSKA, a 1,000-page resource used by medical teams across Europe. As a member of ELPA's Performance Advisory Board, he represents the medical voice in shaping player health and injury prevention standards across professional European basketball.
Sports Psychology
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Mar Rovira - ELPA-PAB, FC Espanyol Head of performance.
A former professional basketball player turned sports psychologist, Mar Rovira holds a degree in Psychology, a Master's in Sports Psychology, and a national basketball coaching license. She has worked with elite athletes across MotoGP, swimming, and tennis — most recently leading the new Mental Performance Department at RCD Espanyol. As one of the founding members of ELPA's Performance Advisory Board since 2020, she has been instrumental in bringing mental performance to the forefront of the player welfare agenda.
Research & Academia
Jaime Sampaio - ELPA-PAB, Professor, University of Trás-os-Montes (PT)
A Full Professor at UTAD and one of the world's top 2% cited scientists in his field, Jaime Sampaio is a leading mind in performance analysis for team sports. His research focuses on complex systems, collective behavior, and creativity in sport, and has collaborated with institutions including the BarçaInnovationHub and the Real Madrid graduate school.
As a member of ELPA's Performance Advisory Board, he brings world-class research expertise to the practical questions that matter most to performance staff working at the highest level.
Club Leadership
Paulius Jankunas - Zalgiris President
Paulius Jankunas spent 19 years at Zalgiris, retiring as the EuroLeague's all-time leader in rebounds (2,010) and games played (392). After retiring in 2022, he rose quickly through Zalgiris's management and became club President in 2024, bringing the same competitive mindset to the front office that defined his career on the court.
Gediminas Navickas - Zalgiris General Manager
A former professional Lithuanian basketball player himself, Gediminas Navickas stepped into the role of General Manager at Zalgiris following Paulius Jankunas's move to the presidency. He has quickly made his mark as a forward-thinking club executive — spearheading Zalgiris's investment in advanced athlete tracking and analytics technology, with the goal of taking load management to unprecedented levels and aligning coaching and performance staff around shared data.
Player Representation
BoŠtjan Nachbar - Managing Director, ELPA
NBA and EuroLeague veteran who won championships across four different countries, Bostjan Nachbar is now Managing Director of ELPA. Since founding it in 2018, he has built it into the collective voice of virtually every EuroLeague player, securing the first-ever collective agreement between players, clubs, and a European league, launching programs covering mental health, second careers, and performance science.
+ MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED
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