Captain Colom to lead Spain as World Cup holders begin road to title defense

MADRID (Spain) - Reigning World Cup champions Spain have announced a squad of 16 players ahead of the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers.

Quino Colom was part of the 2019 title-winning roster and returns as captain, while the likes of Dani Diez, Jaime Fernandez and Dario Brizuela are also included, having been key figures in previous qualifying campaigns.

There are also three players in line for senior debuts with Dani Perez, Jaime Pradilla and Yankuba Sima hoping to be part of the final 12-player roster.

"As always, it is a mixture of different concepts - we have new players who have not played any game with the National Team and who could make their debut in one of these games. There are also veterans to whom we are extremely grateful, for which we believe that they will continue to be an important help, not only helping the younger players to mature but also helping us to win games," commented head coach Sergio Scariolo.

"Let's hope that once again our fans end up feeling proud of the performances, commitment, effort, attitude of this team. I personally feel greatly excited to wear Spain colors again and to meet again with the coaching staff and an exciting and hopeful group of players."

Spain travel to Skopje to face North Macedonia in their Group G opener on Friday, November 26 before returning home three days later to host Georgia in Jaen to round out the first window.

FIBA