LIMASSOL (Cyprus) - Spain have become the class of Europe over the last two decades, collecting four continental titles since 2009. The reigning champs however were delivered a major blow in their hopes of defending their crown at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 by losing their opening game to Georgia.
But if there is one thing that history has taught us: don't count out Spain.
Sergio Scariolo's Spanish side were manhandled by Georgia in a 83-69 loss to start Group C action. The architect of the four crowns took full responsiblity for the loss, admitting his team was not prepared to deal with the physicality of their opponents.
Scariolo remains confident in his team, saying: "Put it on me. We can do better than this."
La Roja will have to do better as they have put themselves in a precarious situation. Their next game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday could almost be considered a must-win, knowing Spain still have to take on the likes of Italy and then Greece to close the group.
While fans in Spain may be fearful this is already the end, Juanacho Hernangomez is not worried.
"There is a long way to go in this championship. I really trust in this group," said the 29-year-old forward, who has played with the national team since 2017 .
"You can never count Spain out of any tournament. We have proven that so many times."
Spain are currently taking their next step in a generational transition - one that started in 2022, though the veteran leadership of players like Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Llull shined through three years ago.
Those two pillars have retired from the national team and Scariolo has spent the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifies infusing young star talent into the player pool. And two of the country's brightest prospects are in Cyprus - the 19-year-old point guard duo of Sergio De Larrea and Mario Saint-Supery.
"The purpose of this championship is basically to continue with our generational turnover. It's a unique situation that a team plays a championship with two 19-year-old point guards. That is a disadvantage for us and me, but it's fun," Scariolo said.
The coach said a challenge has been pushing the two point guards - as well as other players making their EuroBasket debut - to play up to the level of his veterans.
One of those players at his first EuroBasket is star forward Santi Aldama. The NBA big man doesn't fall into the same category as the two point guards. Aldama has already established himself among the leadership group within the team, having played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and 2024 Olympics.
"We really don't care about the outside noise."
"Spain always completes to the highest level and that's a given. We're gonna do it," said Aldama, who scored 12 points against Georgia but struggled from the outside with just 2 three-pointers from his 10 attempts.
"I can't tell you how the competition is going to go - time will tell. But we know the work we have put in and we are comfortable being non-favorites or favorites. We really don't care about the outside noise. We only care about what we do every day."
After the loss to Georgia, Hernangomez addressed how the team can right the ship.
"We know we're not the biggest team, the most talented, but we do have to be the team that tries the hardest, the one that fights the hardest, the one that's the most team on the field," said the forward, who had 13 points and 8 rebounds.
And Hernangomez had a clear message to the rest of the continent.
"You can never count Spain out of any tournament. We have proven that so many times. We have so many championships. I have been part of the two big championships - World Cup and EuroBasket when we weren't the favorite. We never gave up. We always trusted ourselves," he said.
"In one game, anything can happen. This is a team sport and you can never count Spain out."
And one advantage Spain have over almost every team in the competition is the 64-year-old head coach pacing the sidelines, Sergio Scariolo, who will be stepping down from the Spain team after the event.
"He already won four times. He knows how to win, we just need to follow him. He's one of the best leaders. He knows how to do it. I hope we can finish this legacy in a good way," concluded Hernangomez.
Spain have not finished outside the top eight in a EuroBasket since 1977 so missing out on the Final Phase is not part of the thought process.
Regardless of who is wearing the jersey, Spain are still Spain and they still have the heart of a champion. So it's best not to count them out.
FIBA