By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Pau Gasol signed with Barcelona to have an opportunity to once again practice and play with a top level professional team in preparation for the 2021 Olympic Games.
This doesn’t mean, however, that his goals are limited to just getting into shape ahead of Tokyo.
In a blog spot at Expansion, Gasol mentioned how he wants to substantially contribute to Barcelona finishing the season as both the EuroLeague and Spanish ACB League champion. The Blaugrana have already won the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey) and are aiming at the “triple crown.”
“I came to be part of an ambitious project that has shown its strength both in the ACB league and in the Euroleague, in addition to recently winning the Copa del Rey,” Gasol wrote. “My wish is to make my experience and skills available to the club at key moments of the season and help the team win the two titles that remain to be played. I am aware of the responsibility that comes with wearing the Barça shirt once again and I will do everything in my power to help the team achieve its objectives.”
Gasol will be play under Sarunas Jasikevicius. The two of them were teammates at Barcelona in 2000-01, before the Spanish great left the team for the NBA.
“I admire and respect the work of Sarunas Jasikevicius and his entire technical team who, together with the club, have built a great squad,” Gasol wrote on Saras. “I had the pleasure of coinciding with him as a teammate in 2000-2001 and celebrating alongside him the Copa del Rey and the ACB league that we won in that unforgettable season. Saras has managed to transfer the brilliance of his game to the benches. He is a coach with a great vision and who knows how to transmit his character, dedication and passion to the locker room to achieve the commitment of all team members. It is an honor to put myself at his command and contribute my bit to the project.”