In an exclusive interview with Basketball Sphere, Ionut Georgescu shares the story behind his rise from sports journalist to basketball executive.
Ionut Georgescu is the Chief Operating Officer and International Academy Director at Fundacion Lucentum Baloncesto Alicante. He assumed the COO role in June 2026 as part of the club’s organizational restructuring. In parallel, he continues to lead the club’s international projects as Coordinator of the International Basketball HUB.
The 37-year-old Romanian began his career unusually early. Born in Ploiesti on 25 July 1988, he started writing for a sports weekly at 15 and soon became one of Romania’s youngest sports journalists.
At 17 he joined CSU Asesoft Ploiesti as press officer, and by 21 he was named the club’s Executive President — the youngest person to hold that position at any European basketball club at the time. During his time at Asesoft he helped develop the junior academy and community programs while contributing to several EuroCup and FIBA Europe Cup campaigns.
He later held senior executive and general manager positions at Steaua Bucharest and BC CSU Sibiu. At Sibiu in 2019 he was part of the staff that ended a 20-year trophy drought by winning the Romanian Cup and reaching the National League finals.
In 2020 he moved to CSO Voluntari, where over four seasons he secured two Romanian Cup titles and guided the club to its first European finals appearance (ENBL 2024) while finishing third in the domestic league. After that season he left Romania but remained involved as a scout and advisor.
Since May 2024 Georgescu has been with Lucentum Alicante, initially as Technical Director responsible for the youth department and international academy.
He previously spent three seasons handling international relations and events at Real Betis Baloncesto and holds MBAs in Sports Business from the Euroleague Basketball Institute and UCAM Murcia. He is also the CEO of IG Hoops Management Group.
Among the projects that best reflect Georgescu’s vision for the future of basketball is the International Basketball HUB, an initiative that has grown into a global network spanning five continents. He discussed how the idea came to life, the philosophy behind it, and the long-term goals driving its continued expansion.
,,Let’s start with something we tend to forget: we represent a global game, and the first lesson basketball ever taught us is to play as a team. We don’t lean on that nearly enough. There are too many organizations living inside their own bubbles — some prettier than others, but still bubbles.
When I joined Real Betis Baloncesto in 2019, building international partnerships was one of our goals. Asier Alonso, the man I owe my chance in Spanish basketball, who recruited me for Betis and then signed me in Alicante, shared the same vision: to expand and leverage the Spanish basketball brand. Honestly, everyone on this planet who works in basketball wants to understand the Spanish methodology and mentality.
So we started building one-to-one partnerships: Mens Sana Siena, the Cameroon Federation, Pyrinto Tampere, Landstede Hammers in Zwolle, and others.
But we quickly hit a ceiling. With one-to-one deals you can manage two or three projects a year: a camp, a coaching clinic, placing a coach on a national-team staff, helping an American player get a passport and that’s it. So when I signed with Alicante, I told Asier we should build a HUB.
A network where all our partners cooperate, not just with Lucentum (and let’s be honest, very few people had heard of Lucentum Alicante before they joined), but with each other. Because when more people are talking in the same room, the smartest person in the room is actually the room itself. The room collects every idea, every connection, every opportunity.
That’s how it started, Asier and I putting our contacts on the table, setting up meetings, explaining the pillars: networking between key people in each organization; education through webinars and a shared library of materials; events, online and on-site; fundraising, because members pay absolutely nothing to belong; and international opportunities for coaches and players, where we open doors for them.
Today we’re 43 members from 39 countries across five continents — federations, two leagues (the European North Basketball League and the European Youth Basketball League), pro clubs and academies. We’ve run, hosted, co-hosted and supported countless webinars and events, all for the love of the game. And for Lucentum Alicante, this HUB became the engine behind our international academy and the projects that generate both image and revenue.
And the part I love most? It’s a project with solid foundations and no ceiling. The one-to-one model had a hard limit; the HUB doesn’t. Every time someone new walks into the room, the room gets a little smarter and a few more opportunities appear. We’ve grown enormously in just two years to reach these numbers and this level of activity, but the most important thing is that there’s no cap on how far it can go” – Ionut Georgescu said.
Take us through your journey, from being the youngest sports journalist in Romania to one of the most respected basketball executives in Europe.
,,First, that’s very kind of you to say. I’m genuinely grateful that this beautiful game gave a career to a kid who never played pro basketball — not even a single official youth game.
It wasn’t easy. The chip was always on my shoulder: the non-playing CV, my age, and a passport from a country that isn’t exactly a basketball superpower. It all came down to hard work and the right people.
I measure my career not by moments, championships or trophies, but by the people who believed in me, the ones who gave me a job, promoted me, trusted me, and the coaches, players, staff and partners who caught my enthusiasm and jumped into projects with me.
I was 15 when I started working. It was a life decision after my parents divorced, I needed something to drive me and keep me on track. I was obsessed with journalism: calling into every TV and radio sports show, reading everything I could get my hands on. This was the dawn of the internet, forums and dial-up modems screeching to connect.
Life moved slower back then. With some friends, I built the first Romanian basketball website, with one goal: to bring the community together. You see the pattern? Even as a teenager, I was already trying to make the room smarter and full of love for basketball.
Then I got lucky with geography. I was born in the right city, at the right time — Asesoft Ploiesti was emerging into a genuine powerhouse: a string of national titles, the 2005 FIBA Europe Cup, domestic cups and unforgettable European nights. For two decades, that stood as the only continental club trophy in Romanian basketball, until CSO Voluntari, my last team back home, won the European North Basketball League in 2025, exactly twenty years later.
I did everything: ran the website, hosted the press conferences, carried the water bottles, organized the trips and the European campaigns and then stepped up as GM at 19, signing players and building the product. A great ten-year journey.
After that I moved to Steaua Bucharest. A manager switching clubs was unusual back then I became, let’s say, the first “private manager” in Romanian basketball. I was driven by hunger: to prove myself, on the sidelines and in the front office.
Three seasons at Steaua, two in Sibiu before Covid hit, and then I took over as GM at CSO Voluntari near Bucharest from the second division to the Champions League, with trophies along the way and, most importantly, relationships for life.”
Becoming executive president of CSU Asesoft Ploiesti at just 21 was one of the defining moments of Georgescu’s career.
He recalled the expectations that came with the role and the winning culture that shaped his approach to leadership.
,,I’ll tell you honestly, after Asesoft, I never really felt pressure. In Ploiesti, winning was everything. Any defeat was a drama; sometimes it meant no salaries for a couple of weeks. I grew up inside that environment, and I grew up with the players, the coaches and the owners. I matured fast, and I absorbed a winning mindset from a culture where championship standards were literally written on the walls and hanging from the banners.
My first season as executive president, we lost the final, and the title, in the very last second, to Cluj-Napoca, on a shot from almost the opposite three-point line. Mihai Silvasan and Branko Cuic, who would later become Cluj’s head coach and sporting director, were on the floor as players back then.
It was a beautiful rivalry, and it did a lot of good for Romanian basketball. That defeat ended a run of seven straight championships and then we went back to work and won four more, in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
I still remember how our general manager, Alex Iacobescu, introduced me at a meeting with the other club presidents and the federation. I was younger than the waiters bringing us the drinks.
Alex said: “This is our guy. He’ll have strong opinions and strong arguments. He won’t always agree with you, he’s not a yes-man. We trust him.” That gave me an enormous amount of courage.”
Tell us about IG Hoops. How did it come to life, and what role does it play in today’s basketball ecosystem?
,,IG Hoops is my management and marketing company, the tagline says it all: I assist. You shoot. We score. I use it to organize events, offer consultancy, and connect companies to sports projects. The mission is to push the “sports business” mindset inside sporting organizations — helping clubs, federations and athletes turn themselves into a brand that’s relevant 24/7, attractive to both the community and the business world.
It works in both directions, too. A lot of the concepts and strategies that come out of sport: storytelling, fan experience, CSR, co-branded products, sponsorship, apply just as well to ordinary businesses. IG Hoops is where I keep those bridges open.”
Officially stepping in as COO of Lucentum Alicante. Grateful for the trust, energized by the challenge. Sin miedo a crecer 💙 Vamos, Lucentum! 🏀 https://t.co/hsqL8FzJsb
— Ionut Georgescu (@IGhoops) June 10, 2026
Georgescu recently took on a new challenge after being appointed Chief Operating Officer of Fundacion Lucentum Baloncesto Alicante. He outlined the club’s current direction and the priorities that will shape the next phase of its development.
,,First of all, I’m grateful to the ownership group the Diaz family and its representative, Roberto Aguayo (CEO) and to our president, Daniel Adriasola, and our vice-president and CFO, Ignacio Alonso. They gave me their trust, naming me COO and a member of the board, which means I’m involved in all the important decisions.
My main goal is to build a structure that, from a business perspective, can genuinely support the basketball program. That sports-business lens matters enormously. As director of operations I coordinate marketing and communication, events, and sales and I keep driving the international affairs for the academy and the HUB, supporting our sports director and coaching staff along the way.”
What is your long-term vision for Alicante? How much potential does the club have?
,,Enormous potential. Start with the obvious: it’s a beautiful city, and the club has more than three decades of basketball tradition. The fan base is fantastic, they stood by us through difficult times and now the city and the municipality are watching us closely and backing our intentions: to promote Alicante, Lucentum and Spanish basketball to the world.
We have big projects coming. The most important is building our own facility, a residence for more than 200 people, multiple indoor and outdoor courts, a fitness center, offices, restaurants and much more. That will be a crucial moment in the club’s history, because it takes us to a completely different dimension.
On the court, the ambition is to become truly competitive in Primera FEB, a fierce league full of historic names. This season alone we’ll face the likes of Gran Canaria, Granada, Palencia, Estudiantes and Fuenlabrada.
Promotion to the ACB is extraordinarily hard, but we want to compete and edge closer to that dream. And it’s not only the first team: we run nineteen youth teams, our women’s side earned promotion to Liga Femenina 2, and we have a team for athletes with diverse abilities. There are a lot of projects in motion right now.”
Every career is ultimately defined not only by achievements, but also by the goals that remain ahead.
Georgescu concluded by speaking about his ambitions, his family and the motivation that continues to drive him every day.
,,I’ll turn 38 soon, so I can finally say it: I’m young — young with 21 years of experience under my belt. That experience helps me make better decisions, but inside I’m still the curious kid. I still put education first; I’ve always invested in myself, with a Sports Business MBA and a master’s in basketball management, among other things. Time spent on professional development is never wasted.
But I define happiness as a well-balanced life with my family. They moved with me; they changed their lives for me. I’m deeply grateful to my wife, Laura, and to our beautiful daughters, Noelle and Anabelle. I want to make them proud — though I know they’d love me just the same if I started working in a supermarket tomorrow.
Beyond that, I want to use my time and energy to give something back to basketball, because basketball gave me so much. To inspire younger professionals, if I can. And to represent my country at the highest possible stage, I’m proud to be one of very few foreign executives in Spanish basketball.
One of my personal dreams is to make it to the ACB, and then to dream further: to be part of a top-level organization. I believe Alicante can grow into exactly that, and represent the city at the highest level. As for me — the goal is simply to get better every single day. A better person, and a better professional” – Ionut Georgescu said.
Hay muchas generaciones.
— 𝗛𝗟𝗔 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘 (@FundLucentum) July 1, 2026
Pero solo una capaz de unirlas a todas.
💙 Ya está aquí nuestra campaña de abonos 2026/27.
🎟️ Abónate y forma parte de la historia: https://t.co/kEzxXDpSai#GeneraciónLucentum pic.twitter.com/zuZYjef7Ls
