Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 12:04 pm  |  43 responses

Pau Gasol Thinks Spain Can Win the Gold Medal


As the Los Angeles Lakers’ season fades into the past, Pau Gasol has shifted his focus to this summer’s London Olympics. And Gasol is very confident that Team Spain will go far in the tournament, claiming they can win it all. From FIBA.com: “Gasol: ‘My expectations are high. It will be a tough competition for everyone but I’m looking forward to being in London. My teammates and I will fight for the gold medal. I think that we can win the tournament. We have a lot of talent and everyone will be very motivated to give it their all on the court. We’re afraid of no one.’”

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  • AQWORD

    They can but probably wont.

  • AQWORD

    First by the way :-)

  • LA Huey

    Must’ve been lost in translation somewhere. “Gold” and “Silver” must sound very similar in Spanish.

  • http://slamonline.com TBRK

    Pau Gasol….speaking about victory and triumph….this is all so new. lol, naw but they’ve got a chance, especially with Ibaka- dude’s gonna be a beast on the world stage

  • http://www.soundcloud.com/tray-5 T-Ray

    Ibaka is going to average 10 blocks. You heard it here first.

  • Rik Smits Mullet

    And the US basketball team takes out the brooms.

  • http://slamonline.com YKnoT

    Not without Rubio. You should’ve been as confident about the lakers chances black swan.

  • http://Slamonline.com Jzakoni

    Ya feel me dogg?

  • Anon

    Between Pau Marc and Serge somebody has to come off the bench

  • MikeR

    Serge aint Mexican dumbasses. He’s African

  • Rasheedionics

    Why is Ibaka playing for Spain if he’s from Congo?

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Rubio or no Rubio, Spain’s ceiling is a silver medal.

  • http://www.soundcloud.com/tray-5 T-Ray

    Uh MikeR he’s still playing for Spain. Deng plays for a Euro team and he’s as black as an Ace of Spades. And Spaniards and Mexicans are two different nationalities. Jesus Christ.

  • bdogg

    good luck pau….do not see that happening…coach k and team usa…kb will drop 25 again in the gold medal game!

  • FnF

    Deng and Ben Gordon both have British citizenship allowing them to play for the Brits in the olympics. Ibaka was granted Spanish [or Mexican according to very few] citizenship which allows him to play for the Spanish/Mexican olympic team(s).

  • http://www.soundcloud.com/tray-5 T-Ray

    FnF spitting that knowledge.

  • http://slamonline.com 19821982

    If you’re the face of Basketball overseas, you should be given a pass for not saying you expect your team to lose to the best squad. Because those motivational posters would suck.

  • http://slamonline.com badnewsballer

    @miker- been to school much?

  • http://www.slamonline.com Nick Tha Quick

    Is it really so shocking and unfathomable (ha!) that a player born in one country can play for another country at the Olympics? Sometimes the lack of any knowledge outside of the North American continent amazes me here on SLAM. Chris Kaman played for Germany, Noah played for France, the San Antonio pg chick played for Russia, Carmelo could have played for Puerto Rico, Dream played on the Dream Team II, Deng plays for GB. Your country of birth is not the only determining factor.

  • deafballer

    and some people have dual citizenship too! there was a contraversy a while back where a soccer player chose to play for I think it was the U.S instead of England because he said he had no chance of making the english squad. moral of the story, some players can choose which country to play for.

  • LA Huey

    In hindsight, Melo probably wishes he played for PR since he’s going to take 3rd billing as an SF to LBJ and KD.
    Also, Pau said some folks assumed he was Mexican back in his early Memphis days because Spanish was his native tongue.

  • bike

    Maybe they should have an ethnic olympics. Players of West African descent against German descent, East Africans against Native Americans, etc.

  • http://www.slamonline.com spit hot fiyah

    miker, let’s hope that was a joke, that’s right up there with dude who thought kongo wasn’t a part of africa.
    and pau has to think they have chance, they got relatively close last olympics in the gold medal game. and ibaka comes of the bench for this team, at least at the start of the tournament.
    they wont miss picky that much, his game is taylor made for the nba, he never really thrived in internationall play or in the euroleague.
    rudy is the dude they really need, so lets hope he gets healthy he usually kills when playing for spain.
    flashback to the dunk on dwight

  • MAS

    This is what the Games are all about.
    Everyone has to know that the gold is within reach.
    Marc- 5 (Memphis)
    Pau- 4 (LAL)
    Serge- 3 (OKC)
    Rudy- 2 (Denver)
    Calderon- 1 (Toronto)
    Solid starting V and Solid ACB bench. At least 2 or 3 future ñba’ers.
    Lull- 1 He was chosen by the Denver Nuggets with the 34th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. The Houston Rockets then bought his rights from the Nuggets for approximately $2.25 million, making him the most expensive player ever to be purchased during the draft’s second round.
    Vasquez- 4 (Orlando)
    Juan Carlos Navarro- 2 (ex-Memphis)

  • http://www.piratebay.org bike

    oh and btw I stink of gorilla juice all day. Errday.

  • KrispyKreme

    he def cares more about that than the lakers

  • Riki

    I think some people seem to forget that both Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon played for the USA.

  • Marc

    Serge at the 3? Really?

  • MAS

    Why not?

  • bdogg

    he should get checked to see if he got a concussion during the series with OKC!

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    bike, best solution. Try showering. Maybe soap if the water isn’t enough. That will help so it’s not ‘Errday.’

  • LA Huey

    I thought Navarro starts for the National Team.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Nick Tha Quick

    @ Huey I think JCN starts at the 2 with Calderon at the point. Ricky was coming of the bench with Sergio Lull. Rudy was at the 3 with the Gasols up front. I swear their head coach Sergio Scariollo and Andy Garcia are separated at birth.

  • LA Huey

    Thanks, Nick. I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing whether France can actually match up with Spain this summer.

  • Durham’s finest

    Everybody’s counting Javale McGee and the Philipinos out? Oh My Gut, watch out for all of da trapics in the lane!!

  • Top$helf

    MikeR must be Chinese cause he’s One Dum Ho

  • http://www.slamonline.com Redd

    MikeR..that was some close minded sh*t to say, joke or no joke..wow.

  • oliver da sword

    @spit hot fiyah…it is CONGO , not Kongo…The Spanish Team starting 5 is this one:
    1 Calderon
    2 Navarro ( their best scorer,plays in the ACB)
    3 Fernandez
    4 Gasol Pau
    5 Gasol Marc

    From the bench: Ibaka

    That’s how they played at the Euros last year…so Nick Da Quick is right…Besides that, guys the USA invented the internet if I remember well, so how is it possible that there are so many ignorant comments when the topic is something that goes out of your country boundaries??!!…Guys, having been to the States, to Europe and being African (precisely from Cameroon…not Kameroon..lol@spit hot fiyah)I can understand that it is not always easy to have a real understanding of topics that do not concern your country but common…

  • Pais

    @MAS – serge at the 3? Navarro coming off the bench? Sorry, but you have no idea. Serge is a paint protector, as such you want him in the paint instead of trying to guard someone like Lebron or Melo on the perimeter where he’d be eaten alive. Navarro is Spain’s most lethal player, it’s laughable to think he’d come of the bench. Rubio is likely to still come of the bench, that’s if he’s even ready to play significant minutes.

  • Pais

    When US had a full compliment of players to choose from I figured no one would challenge them, Spain included. Now I’m not so confident, who’s going to play in the paint? As talented as the backcourt is (off the charts), someones got to rebound the ball, and protect the rim.

  • Pais

    In a (my) perfect world…
    PG: Rondo/Rose/CP
    SG: Kobe/Wade
    SF: Lebron/Durant/Melo
    F: Bosh/Love/Blake
    C: Howard/Bynum/Chandler

    This squad with a 4 week training camp would set a record for the widest margin of victory.

  • antonio

    they actually have a chance with america out with dwight and derrick

  • TreSHIQ

    HA I scoff at this…Seriously…Spain is taking 2nd.. I may not root for all of them during the season, but if LBJ is on a team with the countries ( NBA AMERICANS) top players. NO otha countries have a chance. Seriously the shame of 2004 ( i think) will NEVA happen again..Like eva.

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