Pau Gasol to lead Spain at EuroBasket 2015

BARCELONA (EuroBasket 2015) - Pau Gasol on Wednesday announced that he will play for Spain at EuroBasket 2015 and try to lead his country into the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The NBA star, who turns 35 next month, will play at the event for the sixth time in his career and try to help the national side bounce back from last year's Quarter-Final exit at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Madrid.

"I have decided that I will be available for the national team and the FEB (Spanish Basketball Federation) at the EuroBasket," Gasol said at a press conference in Madrid.

"I would like to help as much as I can so that we go as far as possible in this tournament and we also qualify for Rio."

The two sides that reach the Final will clinch spots in the Olympics while the teams that finish third, fourth, fifth and sixth will be invited to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Chicago Bulls big man admitted he is getting closer to the end of his international career and wants to do his part in helping Spain make the most of their talented squad.

"Every decision I take at this age has a direct impact on how much longer I will continue playing basketball, so I thought it over for quite a while," Gasol said.

At the end, what played a role was also the realization that I don't have many more big tournaments like this left. - Pau Gasol

"We have a fantastic group of players and I wanted to once again be a part of it and see what we can achieve together, in the time we have remaining."

Gasol is happy that the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) have put Sergio Scariolo back in charge of the national team.

Scariolo led Spain to their first EuroBasket crown in 2009 and also led them to gold in 2011.

The Italian coach steered Spain to a runners-up finish to the United States at the 2012 Olympics.

"I think Sergio is a very good coach," Gasol said.

"He knows this group very well and he's had a very successful spell at the national team.

"We won two gold medals and one silver together.

"I am looking forward to working with him again and I am satisfied with the decision."

It remains to be seen if Gasol's brother, Marc, will play.

The Memphis Grizzlies center was an All-NBA First Team selection after a spectacular campaign that ended in a Western Conference Semi-Finals defeat to the eventual champions Golden State Warriors.

Scariolo may also face an awkward decision on which naturalized player to include because both Nikola Mirotic, a teammate of Pau Gasol in Chicago, and Serge Ibaka of Oklahoma City are options.

Mirotic, a former U20 European Championship MVP with Spain, has made himself available while Ibaka, who played on the national team at EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 Olympics and at last year's World Cup, says he wants to play but only if he is 100 percent fit.

Injuries limited Ibaka to 64 appearances for the Thunder this season.

"Niko is a great team-mate at Chicago, I think he has a great future and he is progressing very well," Gasol said.

"Serge is also a great player.

"It is up to the coach now to make the choice between Niko and Serge, they are both great players but obviously they cannot both play."

Most important for Spain now is that Pau Gasol, arguably the best player in the country's history, is going to play.

The 2006 FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP will be the focal point of the attack when Spain play in Group B, in Berlin, against Germany, Iceland, Serbia, Italy and Turkey.

Go to eurobasket2015.org for full coverage of EuroBasket 2015.

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