Jose Luis Saez: "The Prince of Asturias Award is praise I hadn't dreamt of"

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FEB president Jose Luis Saez chats sincerely about the historic last two weeks: of the world championship games in Japan, about the warm welcome by the fans and head figures in Spain, about recieving the Prince of Asturias Athletics Award for 2006...and of course, about basketball.

How do you feel after conquering the world games and recieving the Prince of Asturias Award?
I feel very proud of all the work everybody in Spanish basketball has done. There have been four gold medals and one bronze, and we still have the world games to look ahead to. I feel that the role of Spain in basketball, women's teams as well as the men's teams, has been impressive. I feel proud, excited and I really think that I have had luck- a lot of luck- to be able to live as a protagonist in this historic moment.

What does this honor mean to you?
Unthought of praise. The Prince of Asturias spoke of long paths and of the transmission of values. That has been obtained, and now it's time to enjoy that and thank everybody, especially the Secretary of State who proposed this idea to Juan Antonio Samaranch. I want them to be a part of this, because if it hadn't been for their proposal, this wouldn't have been possible.

What's left for the Federation to do for the good of Spanish basketball?
Many, many things...there are many more important moments left to live out. Look, we believe that we need to make our social base bigger; that there needs to be a plan of social action in the works; that we still need to work much more for women's basketball; that other structures need to be developed so that the Federation can begin to work as a business as well; that people play basketball in the street...Every day we can think of something new. With unmeasured ambition and professional structure these results will come, results that up unitl now were just dreams.

This triumph is a success for a group of professionals with great talent, but also as a model of administration.
I think it is a triumph of a way to be in the world of basketball. Without talent you can't win, but without organization you can't get results either. We have seen disasterous results with great players who didn't work as a team. Here everybody knows what they have to do, what their part is. The technical staff know where they need to be; they players, who are great, know what they have to do; and the Federation knows its territory and tries to do its job in the best way possible.

What's more, the lower levels are seeing much more support...
To a have a strong base is the future. If anyone asks me what I'm thinking about this minute, I'll tell them I'm thinking of 2008. Work is already being done for Pekin. I am thinking of the period between 2008 and 2012, even though its possible that I'm not president, because there will be more elections in the meantime and it could be another person, but I have the obligation to already be thinking of 2012. If I don't act like this I could make and error and poorly administrate the sports results. This is why what comes next is so important, and it needs to be treated importantly, given a few guidelines and directions so that everything develops how it has with this group-which wasn't put together by chance.

How important is you World FIBA position to you?
I give it importance for what it represents. I mean to be one of the three European representatives on the Executive Committee of World FIBA, among the 213 countries, is very important. In this sense I really want to do a good job, and not just accumulate new titles. For Spanish basketball it is very important to have representatives in international organisms. Work has to be done, of course, we can't just be a number. Today, Spain carries a lot of weight in world basketball.

How much time is left to compete all out with this group and do all the necessary touch ups?
A lot. We are young, very young, and we work with the time we believe we have and we'll do what we can. We're talking about 26 year old veterans when in the NBA there are lots of 35 or 26 year old players. I don't see any limits right now. I don't care to talk about ends of eras because right now I'm enjoying the moment.

Is this team comparable to that of 1984?
I don't compare anything, not Di Stafano with Pel. I never understood that. I just understand what that meant for Spanish basketball, which was a lot, and what it means now, that the most important thing historically has been achieved.

Do you think that much of this success is due to the growth of the ACB league?
Yes, I think that this story doesn't exclude anyone. We've said it directly and passively, but I think that some still want to put it up to the test. I have said that this is due to a collective effort by all, and a big part of that are the teams, the ACB league, which I do think is the engine behind this national team.

What image are you left with from Japan?
It's very complicated to point out something concrete, the truth is that you can't keep anything but the image of that cup being raised out of your head, just as the national hymn is played. This is basic for me. I've also had personal moments. For example, when Pepu tells me on Sunday morning that his father passed away, or the locker room on the day we played Argentina, which seemed that instead of winning we had lost the game. That was really hard because everybody felt how Pau felt, which is why immediately that great shirt was made that read, "Pau also plays."