By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Coming back to club basketball after saying goodbye to the NBA, having officially signed until the end of the season with Barcelona, Ricky Rubio is ready to take place in action with the Spanish national team as well.
Being called up by Sergio Scariolo for the upcoming appointments in the 2025 EuroBasket Qualifiers against Latvia (22/02 at 20:00 CET) and Belgium (25/02 at 17:30 CET), the 33-year-old point guard talked to the official channels of the Spanish federation.
Expressing his feelings, Ricky Rubio spoke with an open heart. “I’m feeling nervous, almost like a rookie again. The truth is that I was very excited to return to the National Team, it was where I left everything so it is like a follow-on after this experience. I really missed it, the atmosphere is amazing and young guys come with a lot of talent and I want to teach a little bit of everything, it’s spectacular”, he first commented.
He also expressed that he “didn’t feel alone at any time, neither in the National Team nor in Cleveland or the world of basketball in general”, and that it helped him go through “such a difficult time”. Ahead of the nearest appointments and the Pre-Olympic, he’s now back in shape for Spain.
The reigning 2022 EuroBasket champions will face Slovakia, Belgium, and Latvia – which is already qualified as co-host of the next Continental competition – in Group C. The two highest-placed teams will qualify for the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket.
📹 “El ambiente que hay aquí es espectacular” ❤️
La ILUSIÓN de @rickyrubio9 por volver a #LaFamilia 🧙♂️#SomosEquipo pic.twitter.com/aYMbTmuUKf
— Baloncesto España (@BaloncestoESP) February 21, 2024
PHOTO CREDIT: 2019 FIBA World Cup