FIBA Basketball

    Spain star Martinez keeps getting up after each knockdown

    SAMSUN (FIBA U18 European Championship 2016) - Sergi Martinez is reminded of one of the worst heartbreaks of his basketball life every time he goes to Twitter. But the Spanish star talent uses that moment

    SAMSUN (FIBA U18 European Championship 2016) - Sergi Martinez is reminded of one of the worst heartbreaks of his basketball life every time he goes to Twitter. But the Spanish star talent uses that moment for motivation and it's helped get Spain to the FIBA U18 European Championship 2016 Quarter-Finals.

    The experience in question was the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2015 when Martinez collected 27 points and 20 rebounds. But they were not enough as Spain lost to eventual champions Bosnia and Herzegovina 86-78 in double-overtime.

    Martinez's Twitter banner shows him with his hands over his bowed head in disappointment with the Bosnia and Herzegovina team celebrating in the background.

    Sergi Martinez uses this moment at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2015 as motivation.

    "This photo shows that we can fall down but we have to stand back up. We have to continue to work," said Martinez, who was the third leading scorer at the U16 tournament with 21.3 points and second in rebounds with 11 boards a game.

    "This is a message to me. If we fall seven times we have to get up an eighth time."

    Martinez and Spain ended up losing to Turkey in the 3rd Place Game and don't even have a podium finish to show for their efforts.

    The same happened earlier this summer at the FIBA U17 World Championship 2016 where Martinez helped Spain get to the Semi-Finals without a loss but then lost to Turkey in overtime before falling to Lithuania in the showdown for the final spot on the podium.

    ...

    Martinez did have an excellent performance in front of the home Spanish fans in Zaragoza, making the All-Star Five with 19.9 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.

    "That helped me improve my game and showed I need to train harder every day and be more intelligent and do what coach says," Martinez said of the FIBA U17 World Championship 2016 experience. "That made me better."

    The tournament also gave Martinez a bit more heartache as it was the third straight loss in the Semi-Finals for him - having lost to Latvia with Spain in the last four of the FIBA U16 European Championship 2014. That 2014 team is the current group in Samsun with five players from the team that rebounded and got past Turkey to take third place.

    Consider that three times fallen and it's time for Martinez to stand up a fourth time.

    ...

    For Martinez to help Spain avoid getting knocked down again in Samsun, the Barcelona native will continue to have to play out of position. The Spaniards are one of the smallest teams at the FIBA U18 European Championship and head coach Luis Guil has been forced to send the 2.00m Martinez into the low block despite his most effective position being on the wing.

    Martinez's versatility comes from him playing football as a youngster until 9 years old, when he took up basketball because his brother David Martinez moved to giants Barcelona and he used to watch his games and fell in love with the sport.

    "Football helped me with my sense of movement and footwork," said Martinez, whose 20-year-old brother is currently playing with the Spanish EBA side Barbera.

    "Coach can use me wherever he wants. For this team I am one of the biggest players on the team and I have to play inside.” - Martinez

    The move into the low blocks among the bigger opponents hasn’t fazed Martinez.

    "I don't have a problem with that. I am versatile, I can play inside and outside. I can pass and dribble," said Martinez, who is averaging 14 points and a team-high 10.5 rebounds. "Coach can use me wherever he wants. For this team I am one of the biggest players on the team and I have to play inside."

    He has to play with his mind as well - to help Spain make up for the size disadvantage.

    "We know that our team isn't big. We talk about this and Coach said we need to use our smarts," Martinez said.

    Whatever it takes to avoid a further knockdown. Who knows, maybe Martinez will change his Twitter banner picture after this tournament.

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