ESP – San Emeterio included on 24-man Spain list
MADRID (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Caja Laboral’s Fernando San Emeterio experienced the biggest moment of his career with a three-point play last week to clinch a 3-0 sweep of Barcelona in the ACB play-off finals. The 26-year-old is now officially in the reckoning for a place in the Spain squad to play at the FIBA World ...
MADRID (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Caja Laboral’s Fernando San Emeterio experienced the biggest moment of his career with a three-point play last week to clinch a 3-0 sweep of Barcelona in the ACB play-off finals.
The 26-year-old is now officially in the reckoning for a place in the Spain squad to play at the FIBA World Championship.
San Emeterio was included in a 24-man list released by the Spanish Basketball Federation on Sunday, from which national team coach Sergio Scariolo will select 15 players to begin preparing on July 21 for this summer’s big event in Turkey.
Scariolo will announce that group of players on Wednesday.
In the 24-man pool are 14 players that were either on the world-title winning side of 2006 or the EuroBasket 2009 gold-medal winning team or both.
They are Carlos Cabezas, José Manuel Calderón, Victor Claver, Rudy Fernandez, Jorge Garbajosa, Marc Gasol, Sergio Llull, Raúl López, Alex Mumbrú, Juan Carlos Navarro, Felipe Reyes, Berni Rodríguez, Sergio Rodriguez and Ricky Rubio.
Scariolo, an Italian, has also included Alaska native Brad Oleson – a shooting guard who also plays for Caja Laboral.
Rafa Martinez, the Power Electronics Valencia guard who helped fire his club to Eurocup glory this season, is on the list as well as point guard Sergio Rodriguez of the New York Knicks and 6ft 11in Fran Vazquez of Barcelona, the MVP of the Copa del Rey.
Vazquez had a disappointing ACB play-off finals but nevertheless may be the favorite to replace Pau Gasol in the squad this summer.
The players that do not make Wednesday’s 15-man squad will be on stand-by and could be included in the World Championship team in case of injury to one that is selected.
Spain, who went undefeated at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, will play in Group D of this year’s tournament.
Their Preliminary Round games will be in Izmir against Canada, New Zealand, France, Lebanon and Lithuania.
The 24-man Spain list released by FEB: Pablo Aguilar, Carlos Cabezas, Saúl Blanco, José Manuel Calderón, Victor Claver, Rudy Fernandez, Gabriel Germain, Jorge Garbajosa, Marc Gasol, Sergio Llull, Raúl López, Rafa Martinez, Alex Mumbrú, Juan Carlos Navarro, Brad Oleson, Felipe Reyes, Berni Rodríguez, Sergio Rodriguez, Ricky Rubio, Victor Sada, Fernando San Emeterio, Carlos Suárez, Juanjo Bunting and Fran Vazquez.
FIBA