Spanish international Pau Gasol is hoping to make this last hurrah at Eurobasket and bring a gold medal back to Spain, making it a memorable one for teammate Sergio Llull, who went down with an ACL injury last week in a game against Belgrade.
“It was an emotional and psychological blow to the team,” Gasol told Eurohoops. “He is a guy you want to play with and a major contributor to the team. It will be difficult to cover him, but each player has to contribute. I wish we can win the championship and dedicate our success to Sergi, who is an important part of this team”.
The San Antonio Spurs newly re-signed center assured the team will prepare appropriately to make up for Llull's absence — a feat that is easier said than done.
“We will try to go from less to more. We have a group with many new faces and with different roles,” said Gasol. “We work every day to improve our chemistry on the court. The important thing now is to use these two weeks that we have and to prepare in order to get the best possible result.”
Llull is a two-way player that can light it up shooting from the perimeter and lock down players at the other end of the floor, task his replacement will have to take on if Spain hopes to walk away a winner.
“Defensively we have to take a step forward,” added Gasol. “As always, that will be the key factor in our success or not in the championship. I think the title of the favorite is a bit anecdotal. In the end, the favorite is the one that plays the best in the European Championship and wins the hard games.”
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