MAN OF THE WORLD
Raptors’ Gasol touts benefits of busy summer with Spain in semifinals
Marc Gasol is two wins away from the FIBA World Cup after the Raptors’ NBA championship run. Rest? Maybe later,
SHANGHAI— Marc Gasol remembers the day the coveted invitation to join Spain’s storied national basketball program arrived in the mail. He was maybe 14 or 15 years old at the time.
“(Me and my friends) were all very excited, and we all called each other on the house phone — we didn’t have any cellphones back then — we all asked our friends if they got the letter too. We were all so thrilled when we got it,” Gasol said.
The Toronto Raptors centre told the story Tuesday just moments after lifting Spain to a 90-78 victory over Poland and into the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup. Gasol had 10 points, seven assists and at plus-22 had Spain’s best plus/minus.
The Spanish national team has occupied a huge space in Gasol’s heart for the better part of the past two decades. That’s why just a week after the Raptors captured the NBA championship, and Gasol partied like a rock star at the championship parade, the sevenfoot-one centre — whose 34year-old legs clearly could’ve benefited from an extended break — reported for national team duty.
“June 19th to the 26th. That was my week off, and then I had to get ready for this,” said Gasol. “It’s not easy, it’s not ideal, but we are one game away from a final game, so it’s all worth it.”
Spain’s victory came on the same Shanghai Oriental Sports Center court that only a night early had seen Canada’s World Cup campaign end with a loss to Germany in the classification round. Canada, which boasts the second-most players in the NBA behind the U.S., had just two of its 17 NBAers on the invitation list in China in Cory Joseph and Khem Birch.
“Yeah, that’s surprising,” Gasol said. “It is a sacrifice. It’s not easy to give up your off-season when you want to work on stuff, when you want to work on your body, heal your body after a really tough long season. All of a sudden you’re joining the national team and you’re committed for 10 weeks ... It’s definitely not ideal. But it’s totally worth it, because you only get to do this for so long.”
Spain is unbeaten at the World Cup, steamrolling past Tunisia, Puerto Rico, Iran, Italy and Serbia to earn its quarterfinal berth. They’ll play the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between Australia and the Czech Republic in the semis.
“It’s a great feeling to be in the top four of the world in such a competitive and demanding competition like this, with so many great teams out,” said Spain’s longtime head coach and Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo. “I would say it’s a good time to get one day off and rest and enjoy this and then prepare for the next one.”
Phoenix Suns guard Ricky Rubio led the way with 19 points Tuesday, and passed Argentina’s Pablo Prigioni to become the FIBA World Cup all-time leader in assists.
Spain worked like a well-oiled machine, and when Gasol tapped a volleyball pass out to Rudy Fernandez for a threepointer it gave the Spaniards a 56-44 run, and prompted a roar from the crowd of 12,400.
Spanish fans occupied a huge section of the arena. In red and yellow wigs, and wearing Spain’s flag like capes, they sang along loudly to “Marcha Real.” Their beloved team gave them plenty to cheer about.
Spain led 22-18 after the first quarter, took a 46-41 advantage into the halftime break, and led 67-58 with one quarter to play.
Poland cut it to four with 5:30 to play, but when Gasol found Rubio open on the perimeter, Rubio’s three-pointer put Spain back in full control with a couple of minutes left to play.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen overnight, that commitment,” Gasol said. “It’s a long process and I’m sure that eventually (Canadian) guys will find that passion, because it is a sacrifice.”