By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Many players have withdrawn from the 2019 FIBA World Cup due to various reasons and although it has been happening to a lot of teams, the sheer number of them pulled the attention towards Team USA.
However, Spain’s Marc Gasol thinks that although they’re missing a lot of guys, the USA also has a lot of talented players filling the void: “I think all teams miss people. Obviously, Team USA has so many great names that it’s different for them but also, they have a lot of talent coming up. There’s always a time of transition for teams, maybe for them it’s been all at once but at some point, there’s always that point of transition. I don’t feel bad for them because they still have a whole bunch of talent coming up”, Gasol told ESPN.
He also noted that Spain is missing players as well: “We miss (Nikola) Mirotic, (Serge) Ibaka, Pau (Gasol), Sergio Rodriguez, (Alex) Abrines… We miss a whole bunch of guys. To me, it’s all excuses f you want to make them. With the void of some players comes an opportunity for other players to step up.”
Gasol puts many World Cup teams at the same level and believes it will depend on the moment: “I think there’s a whole bunch of teams pretty much at a similar level. A lot of things and a lot of the outcome is gonna depend on the timing, what teams pick the right time and play good games when it means the most. So, I see a group of eight, nine teams with a similar level.”
Take a look at what Gasol had to say about the World Cup, Spain, USA and the past and upcoming season with the Raptors: