The Spanish basketball team
The Spanish basketball team has started the concentration with "enthusiasm" to prepare for their participation in the European Championship, with the dual objective of performing well in the continental tournament and "qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics".
"It is an exciting project," said José Luis Sáez, president of the Federation, welcoming the fifteen players present - Pau Gasol was missing, who will join in a few hours after his participation in an NBA exhibition game in South Africa.
"It is a special year because we have the challenge of qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics and because this year marks the 80th anniversary of the first game of the Spanish team in the 1935 European Championship in Geneva, in which we managed to qualify for the Olympics, although we couldn't compete due to the Civil War," said Sáez.
"We have an exciting team and the necessary passion to be where we always want to be, at the top," added the president of the Spanish Basketball Federation.
The event took place at the team's concentration hotel, and in the faces of everyone, especially the new players, there was that enthusiasm to start work and lay the groundwork for aspiring to everything in Berlin and Lille (France).
Friday was the day of presentations and greetings, while Saturday will be dedicated to medical examinations, official photoshoots, and commitments with sponsors. The first serious training sessions will start on Sunday, August 2, in the usual Triángulo de Oro sports center.
After eight days of training with sixteen players: Felipe Reyes, Rudy Fernández, Pau Gasol, Víctor Claver, Sergio Llull, Sergio Rodríguez, Fernando San Emeterio, Pablo Aguilar, Alex Abrines, Dani Díez, Pau Ribas, Xavi Rabaseda, Quino Colom, Guillem Vives, Nikola Mirotic, and Willy Hernangómez, the Ñ2015 Route will begin with a trip to Gijón, where their first friendly match against Belgium will be played on Tuesday, August 11.
Sergio Scariolo, the national coach, does not have a specific date to reduce the list to the final twelve players. "It will depend on the sensations and signals that the players send us during the preparation," he said.
The friendly matches will be as follows:
August 11: Spain vs Belgium (Gijón)
August 15: Spain vs Poland (Santander)
August 16: Spain vs Angola/Senegal (Santander)
August 18: Spain vs Venezuela (Burgos)
August 22: Spain vs Macedonia (Madrid)
August 25: Spain vs Macedonia (Logroño)
August 30: Spain vs Czech Republic (Zaragoza)