ESP - Llull named replacement for injured Berni in Spain team

MADRID (EuroBasket 2009) - Spain coach Sergio Scariolo has decided to take Real Madrid's impressive youngster Sergio Llull to the EuroBasket in Poland as the replacement for injured sharpshooter Berni Rodriguez.
 
Llull, who was drafted early in the second round of this summer's NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets and then had his rights traded to the Houston Rockets, was chosen for the Spain team by Scariolo ahead of Saul Blanco and Carlos Suarez.
 
The 21-year-old, a member of Spain's under-20 team two summers ago, will now try to help the senior team reach the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
 
"I am delighted and I cannot find words to describe this," Llull said.
 
"I will continue to give my best for the team. I´ve given everything I had in training and that is why this is a special day for me."
 
Winning a battle for a spot in the Spain squad can have huge ramifications on a player's career.
 
A similar situation developed in 2006 when Fran Vazquez pulled out of the team with a back injury and Marc Gasol replaced him.
 
Gasol went on to play an important role at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, helping Spain win the gold medal, and his career has moved from strength to strength ever since.
 
While Scariolo is excited for Llull, he says Blanco and Suarez were unlucky.
 
"It was a difficult decision, because all the players that arrived to the national team with an invitation did a very good job," Scariolo said.
 
"The decision was unanimous with the coaching staff. We didn´t consider so much who is the best but rather what the team needs and which player can help us more."
 
Guillem Rubio, meanwhile, has been working out with the team since Pau Gasol went down with a finger injury.
 
While Spain hope that Gasol fully recovers and plays at the EuroBasket in Poland, his presence in Warsaw for the Group C games against Serbia, Great Britain and Slovenia is uncertain.
 
Scariolo said of Rubio: "He will continue to train with the team until Pau returns."
 
FIBA