Better late than never for Spain's Pau Ribas

BARCELONA (2016 Rio Olympics) - Was there ever any doubt that Pau Ribas would choose basketball as the sport he would devote his life to? The answer to that is surprisingly yes.

In the very beginning, it seemed a certainty he would be a devotee to the game. He was born 2 March 1987, in the hoops hotbed of Badalona. His father, Jordi, had played the game professionally.

When I was born, my father's friends gave me a basketball as a present. I've had the pressure since the day I was born. And it's difficult not to play basketball in Badalona. - Ribas

A life in basketball seemed even more likely once Ribas, a guard, became a regular in the Joventut gym as a small boy. Joventut was where his dad had played.

"I arrived at Joventut when I was four," he said, "and not before because it was not possible."

The reality, though, is that Pau Ribas did not know for certain that he would commit to endless hours in the gym until his teenage years. Aito Garcia Reneses was the coach of Joventut at the time.

"I really didn't think I would dedicate myself to basketball when I became a junior," he recalled. "(But) I took an important step physically. I then started to train with the first team and Aito and that's when I realized I could have an opportunity and I told myself I am going to try and make the most of it."

Make the most of it he certainly has. Ribas has progressed through the ranks, excelling at every stop. First there was Joventut and then Baskonia (Laboral Kutxa). He then moved to Valencia Basket and following his best-ever season in 2014-15, he switched to Barcelona.

Before suiting up for Barca, though, Ribas did something else. For the first time in his career, he did something that some felt was overdue. He played for Spain at a EuroBasket.

With the team crying out for a good player on the perimeter, national team coach Sergio Scariolo named Ribas in the squad and he helped the team capture its third crown since 2009. In so doing, Ribas helped Spain book a spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

It comes as no shock that he looks back on 2015 as one of the best years in his life.

"This (past) summer was unforgettable," he said in an interview with El Mundo. "Barcelona were interested in me and I played for the national team. It gave me a lot of pride because it meant that I had done a good job. It wasn't a surprise because for a few seasons back, I had done my job well but my aim was to take a step forward."

Felipe Reyes (ESP) and Pau Ribas (ESP) at EuroBasket 2015

If 2015 was good, just imagine how 2016 is shaping up to be. It seems a certainty that Ribas will be on the plane to Rio de Janeiro to make his Olympic debut.

He could end up walking into the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony, donning the suit and hat that will be presented to all of the Olympians from Spain.

Imagine, too, what the emotions will be like when Ribas enters a game for the first time and sinks his first jump shot. Of course he is excited by the prospects but for now, Ribas has his first season to get through with Barcelona.

As for Spain and the Olympics? He keeps it simple.

"Our aim is to play and to win," he said.

FIBA