By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
Only hours remain before Spain begins its defense of the European throne. The national team will face Georgia in the first game of the group stage, a matchup that promises to be thrilling and, as Sergio Scariolo knows, will likely be tight.
Spain’s preparation had plenty of ups and downs, but that doesn’t seem to worry the Italian coach too much.
As he said: “We’ve prepared quite well; now comes the hardest part. I’ve never had bad feelings with this team in all these years before starting a tournament. The sense of cohesion and desire to compete was good, and now all that’s left is for each player to be clear about what he has to do, on and off the court, and to begin the competition without any added pressure but with full awareness that the task in this group will be very difficult, and that every game will carry fundamental weight.”
The answer to the Power Rankings position
Spain is far from being considered one of the favorites to win the tournament, not even ranked among the Top 10 best teams of the competition… a circumstance that, for Scariolo, is almost anecdotal, since it ignores Spain’s greatest secret weapon.
As he said: “I don’t think everybody in the basketball world is stupid. If we are ranked tenth, it’s because they believe that’s our situation right now. Everyone has their opinion, but luckily, rankings are not results. Historically, I’ve learned that these classifications are based on the individual talent of the 12 players on the roster. At the same time, historically, we’ve been able to add something extra thanks to our collective work, to being united and competitive, with strong tactical preparation. The basketball IQ of Spanish players has historically been high, so we rely a lot on these strengths to try to compete. But I can also tell you that we have very good players individually. I’m happy with the roster I have.”
With Santi Aldama leading the way, this is probably the first major tournament in which generational change is truly at the forefront, leaving behind the team’s most glorious era. However, according to Scariolo, the future will be just as spectacular: “There is a bright future for Spanish basketball. Many players are very close to exploding and taking the final step toward maturity. Fortunately, there are also players like Willy, Juancho, or Darío, who still have plenty of gas left in the tank. For many reasons, I see a very, very bright future for the Spanish national team in the coming years.”