ESP - Garbajosa and other NBA players in Spain EuroBasket squad

MADRID (EuroBasket 2007) – Jorge Garbajosa and the other 11 players who captured gold at last year's FIBA World Championship in Japan were on Wednesday named in coach Pepu Hernandez's 15-strong EuroBasket squad.

Power forward Garbajosa, who helped the Toronto Raptors win the Atlantic Division this year as a rookie, made the all-tournament team in Japan but has been a serious doubt since suffering a bad ankle injury in March.

The injury required an operation and brought an early end to Garbajosa’s campaign.

Nevertheless, he his hoping to recover fitness and Hernandez is going to give him every chance to play in Spain, with the tournament tipping off in September.

"We have a chance that Garbajosa will recover in time," Hernandez said. "Each week, we will get more information. For us, Garbajosa is very important and he merits the nickname given by the Raptors 'Glue'.

"He creates and forms the group whether it's on or off the court, which is the most important role."

In releasing his squad, Hernandez listed the other 11 world champions, while Garbajosa is among four players “training with the team”.

Copa del Rey MVP Jordi Trias of Winterthur Barcelona, and youngsters Victor Claver of Pamesa Valencia and Mario Fernandez of Grupo Dunas Gran Canaria are also named as players to train. Trias was the final cut from last year’s team.

Hernandez says he will wait as long as possible to see if Garbajosa can play.

"We have administrative dates that are 72 hours before the start of the EuroBasket by FIBA and then we have our own dates to continue to observe him,” Hernandez said.

Garbajosa’s fellow Raptor, point guard Jose Manuel Calderon, along with Portland Trail Blazers playmaker Sergio Rodriguez and Memphis Grizzlies star Pau Gasol and the rest of last year’s gold-medal winning team have all been selected, including veteran shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro of Winterthur Barcelona. 

Two young members of last year’s gold medal side, Rudy Fernandez of DKV Joventut and Marc Gasol of Akasvayu Girona, are both expected to be selected in Thursday's NBA draft.

Raul Lopez, whose NBA career with the Utah Jazz was cut short by knee injuries and forced his return to Spain, just helped Real Madrid capture the Spanish ACB title but has not been included.

"For me it was very important the experience that this group had already taken," Hernandez said. "That doesn't mean that I have not encountered problems when making my selections because now we have very good players."

Hernandez will eventually trim his roster to 12 for this year's tournament.

Spain have already qualified for the Beijing Olympics, so Hernandez says the only pressure his players will feel will be constructive.

"The pressure we have is on the team competing better, not the pressure that comes from outside,” Hernandez said.

"My players want to play good basketball here in Spain. It is a great opportunity for us to give back the support we received in Japan."

The EuroBasket starts on September 3 with Spain to play in Group B against Portugal, Latvia and Croatia in Seville.

Spain will start training on July 26 in Cadiz and play eight friendlies, beginning on August 8 against Venezuela in Jerez, before the start of the EuroBasket on September 3.

Spain EuroBasket squad: Carlos Cabezas (Unicaja Malaga), Jose Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors), Sergio Rodriguez (Portland Trail Blazers), Rudy Fernandez (DKV Joventut), Juan Carlos Navarro (Winterthur F.C. Barcelona),

Carlos Jimenez (Unicaja Malaga), Alex Mumbru (Real Madrid), Berni Rodriguez (Unicaja Malaga), Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies), Felipe Reyes (Real Madrid), Marc Gasol (Akasvayu Girona), Training with the team: Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto Raptors), Jordi Trias (Winterthur Barcelona), Victor Claver (Pamesa Valencia), Mario Fernandez (Grupo Dunas)

Cindy Garcia-Bennett
FIBA