“The elimination of the World Cup is a very hard blow for the USA”

taketonews

Manila (Special Envoy)

09/09/2023 at 10:32

CEST


“You have to learn and be self-critical, but I like the team, the players who come from behind and I think we can get excited,” explains the Spanish basketball leader.

Global ambassador of the World Cup, along with two other legends such as the American Carmelo Anthony and the Argentine Luis Scola, Pau Gasol (Barcelona, ​​1980) has traveled to the Philippines to enjoy the final phase of the tournament, which this Sunday will see the fight for the title between Serbia and Germany (2:40 p.m., TVE) and a few hours before the bronze medal match between the USA and Canada (10:45 a.m., Gol). In a conversation with this newspaper, Gasol spoke about the final, about the US defeat and also about the role of the Spanish team.

Was the elimination of the USA in the semifinals expected?

There may be people who didn’t expect it, but it didn’t surprise me. It is true that the USA is a very difficult team to beat, regardless of who is there, because they always have talent equal to or greater than yours. But in the end we saw two teams like Serbia and Germany that earned their place in the final on their own merits and all that remains is to congratulate them and enjoy the final, which I think is going to be very nice.

You know American basketball very well. How are you going to accept this tough defeat, when the objective in Manila was to win back the title?

It is clear that being eliminated from the World Cup is a very hard blow for them. But it’s not the first time. It already happened to them in 2002 and 2006. Then they won in the 2010 and 2014 editions and in 2019 it happened again. In other words, it is not something unprecedented and it is something that is talked about. In the end, this team, which has so much talent and so many top players, gives the same importance to a World Cup that they give to the Olympic Games, where they have results. We have to see what the impact is but it is clear that they have no choice but to congratulate and learn that in sport, as in life, anyone can beat you if you are not at your best level.

Spain could have reached the quarterfinals or semifinals. The Latvia game was key and condemned him to play life or death with Canada”

What virtues would you highlight of the two finalists, Serbia and Germany, to get to where they have arrived?

I believe that conviction, above all, and the image of unity as a team. I think it is something similar to what happened in the last World Cup, with Spain and Argentina in the final: two teams with great cohesion, who have been playing together for years, who know each other well, compete, who come out to bite from the First minute, they believe in them, and in the end they win.

Serbia returns to a final nine years later and does so with the coach who made them champions in 2002 in Indianapolis.

Pesic’s is one of the most beautiful stories of this championship. 23 years ago he was Serbia’s coach and he is still here. He trained my brother (in Girona). I know him personally and he is capable of leading a team. In a team that does not have Jokic or any other important players and they must be given the merit they have. But they are the example that the team is above the individual.

How do you rate Spain’s elimination from this World Cup?

It was a shame, I think the team could have been in the quarter-finals or even the semi-finals. The Latvian game was the key. Latvia showed that they were a dangerous team by also beating other teams with potential and losing that game put you in a life or death situation against Canada. It was also a game that seemed like we had won, but in the end the Canadian team has very good individuals. Dillon Brooks is and Shai Gilgeous-Alxander is a player who solves very well and in the end they won the game.

Perhaps the results of the last championships, in the World Cup and the Eurobasket, had created a reality above what could be expected.

Well, I don’t know. Of course, becoming world champions in 2019 and European champions in 2022 were important results that perhaps we did not expect. And, it is true that it is difficult to maintain that level in such demanding competitions. But if you compete, you give yourself a chance to win it, like we did. In Spain we have also had our bad moments, like in the World Cup in Spain in 2014. There are always moments when expectations are not met, but that is part of the journey and the evolution of each team. And I like the team we have, I like the players who come from behind, and I think we can be excited. Get nervous? So what must they be saying in France? You have to continue and learn, self-criticize and come back next year stronger. Defeats also serve to better appreciate victories.



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