What happened?
BAXI Manresa has made official the signing of Pierre Oriola, a 33-year-old center and 2.08 meters tall, who joined the club's lower categories at 16 years old and returned in 2023 for another season. Now he will live his third stage in the Bages team, a place that can be considered as his basketball home.
Why is it important for BAXI Manresa?
The veteran player from Tàrrega signs until the end of the season after being crowned league champion with Fuerza Regia de Monterrey, in Mexico. In the coming days, he will join Diego Ocampo's discipline and could debut this Sunday in the Liga Endesa against Hiopos Lleida, his team from last season.
Oriola debuted at 16 years old in the ACB, but only played 6 seconds in his debut game. After averaging few minutes in his two following seasons in Manresa, he left in search of opportunities to Força Lleida, Peñas Huesca in the LEB Oro, and later to Baloncesto Sevilla to return to the top category, before making the leap to Valencia Basket, where he won the ACB League in 2017.
What comes next?
From there, his career took off with his signing by FC Barcelona, where he played five seasons and was captain, adding four Copa del Rey titles and another League. After a bitter departure from the azulgrana club, he signed with Bàsquet Girona and had a brief stint with AEK Atenas, before returning for a second time to BAXI Manresa in 2023. Two years later, he returns to live his third stage in what was his first professional club.
| Season | Team | Games | Points | Rebounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | BAXI Manresa | 20 | 10.5 | 5.2 |
| 2024-2025 | Fuerza Regia de Monterrey | 15 | 12.1 | 6.1 |
Now I would like to be with my family and finish the season in Spain, and if I have the opportunity to return next time, do not doubt that I will do it, said Oriola after winning the Mexican league with Fuerza Regia. Said and done. In total, Oriola will have worn the jersey of three different teams in a single calendar year. He started 2025 with Lleida and left for a transatlantic adventure in Mexico where he stayed for a few months, but won the league title on November 11th. Now he will finish his particular year where everything started, at BAXI Manresa.
International success
His debut with the absolute selection took place in July 2017, and that same year he was part of the team that won the bronze medal in the Eurobasket. However, the culminating point of his international career came in 2019, when he was crowned world champion in China. Throughout his career with the selection, he has accumulated 40 international appearances, averaging 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.