The Guangdong Southern Tigers announced on November 4 that Nenad Jakovljevic is no longer the team’s head coach, ending a tenure that lasted just 71 days from his August 25 appointment — and replacing him with Josep Maria Berrocal, Zhibo8 reported. In those 71 days, the 38-year-old Serbian managed only three wins in eight regular-season games, the worst start in the storied club’s history, with the team sitting outside the league’s top 12.
Jakovljevic arrived in Dongguan with a resume built in European basketball’s elite circles: he served as an assistant to Dusan Ivkovic and Svetislav Pesic, was part of the Serbia national team staff that won silver at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and worked alongside Nikola Jokic and other NBA stars. At Virtus Bologna, he became interim head coach in 2024, was signed through 2026, and led the Italian powerhouse to the domestic league title — becoming one of the youngest head coaches in EuroLeague history.
A glossy European resume meets a different kind of basketball
Jakovljevic, for all his European pedigree, had never coached outside Europe, and industry voices questioned from day one whether he would adapt.
🚨 Coaching change in Guangdong: Nenad Jakovljević out as head coach. According to reports, the Serbian tactician has been dismissed after a rough start to the CBA season. Guangdong currently sits at 3-5, ranked 12th in the league—marking their worst start in franchise history.… pic.twitter.com/MVQV24XFrv
Some Guangdong fans initially backed him anyway, eager to move on from former coach Du Feng and drawn to the promise of “advanced European basketball.” That patience ran out quickly. After an October 11 preseason win over Tianjin by 32 points, Jakovljevic told reporters, “Building a team is a process, and the team is moving in a good direction — we just need time,” according to media commentator Mai Suifeng, as relayed by Zhibo8.
The numbers behind the collapse
Guangdong’s 3-5 record was not just a bad win total; the underlying numbers showed a team that could shoot but could not generate or defend. In the first phase of the regular season, the team’s offensive turnover rate hit 18.1%, fourth-worst in the league. Defensive efficiency was equally troubling: opponents scored 118.8 points per 100 possessions, 13th in the CBA. The team’s three-point attempt rate of 39.3% ranked 12th, meaning Guangdong rarely created open looks despite decent shooting percentages. Most alarming, opponents shot 40.3% from three against Guangdong — the worst mark in the league. The team also played at a crawl, averaging 76.1 possessions per game, 15th in a league that has sped up across the board.
Guangdong lost its season opener by one point to Tongxi, blew big leads against Shandong and Qingdao, nearly got overturned by 0-8 Ningbo, and needed a Cui Yongxi putback to escape near-bottom Jiangsu.
The Luka Božič problem
Božič is a physically imposing low-post scorer who can finish through double teams, but his defensive effort and team fit were poor. Zhibo8 described a pattern in which Jakovljevic repeatedly ran isolations for Božič, producing “one-on-four” stagnation that ate possessions, slowed the offense and sapped teammates’ energy. Because CBA rules allow only one import on the floor in the fourth quarter, Božič’s heavy fourth-quarter minutes repeatedly coincided with Guangdong’s late-game collapses.
National-team players Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, Cui Yongxi and Jiao Boqiao never hit their expected levels, while young players Wang Hongze, Chen Jiazheng and Huang Mingyi saw their minutes shrink rather than grow — meaning Jakovljevic delivered neither wins nor developmental progress.
Berrocal steps in as the search for answers begins
Guangdong’s announcement said the parting was reached “through friendly consultation and mutual agreement,” with Berrocal taking over immediately. The Spaniard now inherits a roster with real talent but offensive struggles, the league’s worst defense against the three, and a fan base grown restless after the 3-5 start.
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