MADRID (Spain) - Five recently-crowned FIBA EuroBasket 2022 champions have been included in Spain's pool of 15 for the upcoming window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers.

Sergio Scariolo invited European winners Dario Brizuela, Alberto Diaz, Jaime Fernandez, Joel Parra and Sebas Saiz to the team that will take on Italy on the road on November 11 and host Netherlands on November 14.

The Spain-Italy showdown will give the winner the inside track to take first place in Group L of the Second Round as they look to secure their spot at next year's World Cup.

Scariolo has a group of players who know the European Qualifiers well as 11 of the 15 have played in at least one of the games leading up to next summer. Six of those players - the five EuroBasket champs plus Yankuba Sima - have played in at least half of the eight qualification contests.

"I believe this is a team with important values - consistency, character and quality - that can help us to fight for our goal in this camp: win the game that will help us to qualify for the World Cup," said Scariolo, who called on two players who could make their Spanish senior national team debut in Pep Busquets and Eric Vila.

"When building this list we had in mind our core values of prioritizing the players coming from our under and youth teams that have clearly showed their progress and evolution in the playing system of the national teams."

 
Spain's last two games in the European Qualifiers will be at Iceland and at home to Italy in February, 2023 as they hope to have sealed their place prior to the final window.

FIBA