Força Lleida extends coach Gerard Encuentra

Força Lleida formalized Gerard Encuentra’s long-term future on April 2, extending the head coach’s contract through June 2029. The club, which plays in the ACB under the Hiopos Lleida name, said the new agreement adds two seasons to a deal that had already run until June 2027. The move keeps in place the coach who led the team’s rise back to Spain’s top division. Club and league statements framed the renewal as a continuation of the sporting project built around the Lleida-born coach. ### When did the extension happen, and how long does it run? April 2 was the date Força Lleida announced the agreement with Encuentra, saying the coach would remain in charge until June 2029. The club said the extension lengthens his existing contract by two additional seasons. The ACB’s report on the announcement said Encuentra had been under contract until June 2027 before the new agreement was signed. Other Spanish basketball outlets, including Gigantes and AS, matched that timeline in their coverage of the renewal. ### Who is Gerard Encuentra in Lleida’s project? Gerard Encuentra arrived at the club in the summer of 2021 from CB Pardinyes, according to Força Lleida and the ACB. (flleida.cat) The club said he had previously helped deliver achievements at Pardinyes, including promotion to LEB Plata and a Liga Catalana LEB title in 2019. In the 2021-22 season, when the team competed as ICG Força Lleida, Encuentra guided the club to the promotion Final Four for the ACB, the club said. (acb.com) He later became the coach who took Lleida back to the Liga Endesa, a point highlighted in coverage by Gigantes and other Spanish outlets after the renewal was announced. ### Why did the club move now? Força Lleida announced the extension with the team in the middle of its first season back in the Liga Endesa, and Spanish media said the decision came as the club sought to keep continuity around its coaching staff. (flleida.cat) Segre reported the renewal as part of the club’s planning for future seasons, while the club’s own statement described the agreement as an expansion of the existing relationship rather than a reset. Mundo Deportivo, citing the club’s announcement, said the renewal was presented as a sign of confidence in the sporting project. Sport and EFE reports noted the extension was confirmed during a difficult run of results in the league, underscoring that the board chose to back the coach despite short-term pressure. (segre.com) ### What did the club say about Encuentra? Força Lleida, in comments reported by Segre, described Encuentra as “a clear example” of what the club’s philosophy and local identity represent. That language tied the decision not only to results but also to the coach’s place in the organization’s culture and connection to Lleida. (mundodeportivo.com) The club’s official statement was more concise, saying only that both sides had reached an agreement to extend the contract by two seasons. The ACB version of the announcement repeated the same core facts and listed the milestones from Encuentra’s time in charge. ### What changes now for Hiopos Lleida? The immediate effect is contractual clarity. With Encuentra signed through June 2029, Hiopos Lleida can plan the 2026-27 season and subsequent roster decisions with its head coach already in place, according to the club’s announcement and local reporting on the deal. (segre.com) June 2029 is now the next formal milestone in the agreement unless the sides revisit terms earlier. (flleida.cat) Until then, the coach who arrived in 2021 and led Lleida back to the ACB remains the central figure in the club’s bench planning and squad build for the coming seasons.