Pau Gasol: "Dario Saric could have been NBA Rookie of the Year"

CLUJ-NAPOCA (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - Even at 37, Pau Gasol shows no signs of slowing down. Out here in Romania, the Spanish giant is embarking on what could be an historic run, not only for Spain, but for him personally.

Pau could become the first person with three FIBA EuroBasket MVP titles to his name - right now he is tied with Kreso Cosic, the former Croatian great being the only other player with two MVP honors. Gasol also needs 61 points to overtake Tony Parker and become FIBA EuroBasket all-time leading scorer.

But his focus is set on team accolades, not personal gain. A fourth title in five tries is up for grabs for Spain.

"That's why I'm here. Our team is very ambitious, very talented, and we're a good group of guys, a good group of friends. We came here to compete, and try to do as well as possible and win," Gasol said in front of a crowded mixed zone at Polyvalent Hall.

It was business as usual for Gasol, who was once more surrounded by a media scrum upon arrival in Clu-Napoca

Spain will start their title defense against Montenegro on Friday. Gasol said the opening game is all that they are thinking about, but could not avoid questions about a re-match with Croatia, and the chance to hit back against the red-and-whites following their dramatic encounter at Rio Olympics. Chance for revenge, maybe?

"There's no revenge. That was a game we lost, a tough, close game, but at a different championship. We're going to try to win [the game against Croatia] because we want to be first and the best," the 37-year-old explained.

Back in 2016, Gasol thought he had an easy lay-up to force overtime against Aco Petrovic's squad. But out of nowhere, along came Dario Saric, soaring to the sky and rejecting Pau's shot in a fury. Fast forward to FIBA EuroBasket 2017, Gasol still speaks highly of the 23-year-old Croat.

"Dario Saric is a great player. Very talented, growing, still very young, with room for improvement. [He is a] player that can do a little bit of everything. He's coming off a great season, I think he had a very good rookie season, arguably could've been NBA Rookie of the Year, so...let's see how he plays at the tournament," said the Spaniard, a smile on his face.

With Montenegro, Hungary, Romania and Czech Republic struggling all summer long in preparation games, Spain and Croatia are looking like group favorites in Cluj-Napoca.

"It seems that way, yeah. With talent and previous results and experience, Croatia and us seem to be the strongest two teams in the group. But you still have to play, you have to compete, you have to beat everyone else, every team in your group to be the best. We'll see. You have to earn it."

Earn it. Sums up the first-game-plan for Spain perfectly. Against NBA center Nikola Vucevic, Spanish ACB League Finals MVP Bojan Dubljevic, FC Barcelona point guard Tyrese Rice and the coaching savvy of Bogdan Tanjevic, nothing will come easy for Spain on Day 1 of Group C. But this will be no ordinary game for Pau. He will put on his beloved Spanish shirt for the 200th time.

All the more reason for you to tune in. Spain against Montenegro could be a fiery encounter at 16:45 CET (17:45 local) on Friday.

FIBA