URU - Batista continues as Uruguay's main man

ATLANTA (FIBA Americas Championship) - Uruguay are hoping to establish themselves as a force in South America and eventually qualify for Olympic Games and FIBA World Championships.

Esteban Batista is crucial to the cause.

A 6ft 10in, 269lb power forward/center, the 23-year-old is Uruguay's lone representative in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks.

In his career, he has played for Uruguayan clubs Welcome, Salto and Trouville, Chilean side Liceo Mixto, Spanish sides Real Madrid and Pozuelo and Mexican outfit Aguas de Calpe.

He spoke to Matias Greco for FIBA.Com.

FIBA: Esteban, what is your status with the Atlanta Hawks now that the two-year contract you had with the club is finished?

Batista: "From that contract, I have the first year guaranted and the second was an option Atlanta had to go on having me in the team or not. Fortunately, they decided to count on me a second year so I managed to play two entire seasons for Atlanta. My relationship with the Hawks is excellent. They treated me very well and have trusted me since the very beginning. That is why, now that I am a free agent, my goal is to stay in the NBA for a long time. The Hawks have priority in my sportuing future, if they think I can be important for the team."
 
FIBA: If you had to describe your first two NBA seasons with one word, which one would you use?

Batista: "I think I'd use several, not just one - pride, satisfaction, commitment, maturity, happiness … motivation to keep on working hard and improving every day. I know I have everything I need to earn my place in this league for a long time, but I also know it demands my highest effort - training hard, be a professional on and off the court. Here, there are the best and there are millions of players who want to be in my place. I've worked very hard to be in the place I am today and I want a lot more from basketball. I won't rest until I achieve that."
 
FIBA: What are the plans for your immediate future?

Batista: "I will wait for Oscar Moglia (Batista's agent) to tell me what options I have, to evaluate all the possibilities together and decide the best for me, whether in the NBA, which is my priority, or in Europe. As I have a European Community passport, I have a few, very important options as well."
 
FIBA: What have the people been like in Atlanta?

Batista: "People in Atlanta have treated me very well. People used to stop me in the street, in the stadium, to talk to me … They have backed me a lot and it is very important for a young player like me, far from my homeland. Team-mates, coaches, officials... all of them contributed to make my new life as comfortable as possible."
 
FIBA: A lot of things have happened, Esteban, since the FIBA Americas Championship in Santo Domingo in 2005. In that two years, you have become the first-ever Uruguayan player in the NBA.

Batista: "To me, the Tournament of the Americas in Santo Domingo was crucial for me to become the first Uruguayan in the NBA. I knew perfectly well how important that championship was for me and was consciously prepared to face it in the best possible way. I knew my sporting future depended on that. Since the day I arrived here (in Atlanta), it's been like a dream came true. The moment I signed my first contract, my first training session with the team, my first game - all was magic. It was the prize for the effort I've been making for a long time, but it was also a big responsibility because I was the first player of my country playing in the NBA. I knew I would be an example for a lot of kids and teenagers in Uruguay."
 
FIBA: And two years after that championship, how different will it be for the fans when they see you in Las Vegas for the FIBA Americas Championship?

Batista: "The two NBA seasons have helped me mature a great deal. I am more mature and more experienced in both sport and personal aspects. Now, I know perfectly what I want and how I can achieve it. Even though in the first year I played more than what I was expecting and in the following season I played less than what I was expecting, everything has helped me get more experience, improve technically and physically and, especially, convince myself I am able enough to be an important player for any team that trusts me."
 
FIBA: Do you feel your play will be over-analysed by fans in your country in the upcoming FIBA Americas Championship because of your spell in the NBA?

Batista: "I have no doubt about it. Not only by Uruguayans but by everybody. I belong to the best league in the world and have a big responsibility because of that. However, I am not worried at all. On the contrary, it motivates me a lot.
 
FIBA: We understand that Uruguay, ahead of the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro (from June 25 to 29) and the FIBA Americas Championship (from August 22 to September 2), have a very busy schedule. You will meet up to begin training on May 23 for friendlies against Spanish regional teams, then play a Super Four tournament against hosts Chile, Brazil and Argentina from June 29 to July 1 and, after that, fly to Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo to meet Brazil on July 6 and 8. After that, you will have four games against Argentina - two in Buenos Aires and two in Uruguay. What are your thoughts looking ahead to the summer?

Batista: "Both tournaments (Pan American Games and FIBA Americas Championship) are very important for us. That's why I have just ended my year with a beach holiday, to disconnect myself from basketball. Then, I will return to Uruguay to start individual and team trainings, so I can help Uruguay climb high in both."
 
FIBA: Without the NBA players Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto and Walter Herrmann, Argentina appear to be beatable in Vegas, which is the pre-Olympic championship. Would you agree?

Batista: "There is no doubt these are very important absences because they all are first-class players and, with them on court, Argentina are one of the powerful nations in world basketball. Anyway, Argentina are able to build a strong squad and they will surely be candidates for success. Personally, I would have preferred they to play. I like facing rivals with their strongest potential."
 
FIBA: What do you think about players who prefer to heed the advice of NBA teams and not join the national team?

Batista: "It's difficult for me to give an opinion, because I don't know the details that make players decide so. To me, defending my country is very important and as long as I can, I'll do my best to be with the national team whenever they need me. However, I also understand franchises when they want to reduce their main players' risks, even because of possible injuries or resting to be in good form next season. We have Pau Gasol's injury in the last year's FIBA World Championship as the closest example. Manu, Oberto and Herrmann have all demonstrated commitment to the Argentinian national team and achieved the most important success. I think to judge their decision would be unfair to them."
 
FIBA: And what about the other rivals in the FIBA Americas Championship's Group Stage? Nolan Richardson, who led Panama to the FIBA World Championship qualification, is now in charge of Mexico. There look to be very strong teams.

Batista: "Puerto Rico are one of the world's most powerful nations. Panama have always had a good level and will be very complicated rivals to beat. Mexico have an enormous potential and, if they count on all their figures, can expect important things. They are three top rivals who will make it very complicated to us. We'll have to do our best effort to pass them."
 
FIBA: If Uruguay do not finish among the top two sides in Las Vegas, how difficult it will be for the team to book one of the places for next year's Olympic qualifying tournament to be in Beijing then?

Batista: "Nothing is easy for us. We are a little country, with few people and not too many resources. However, we have an important basketball history, with skilful players and will, so I promise we'll do our best to achieve that goal."

Matias Greco
FIBA