ESP - Spain players right at home in camp

LAS PALMAS (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Pau Gasol might be missing, but Marc Gasol still feels like he has a brother with him in Spain's training camp for the FIBA World Championship.

Just not a blood brother.

"For many years Juan Carlos and I have known each other and we are like brothers," Gasol said of Juan Carlos Navarro. "Being in the same room as Juan Carlos is like being with my brother Pau, because they are very similar.

"I have a lot of affection for Juan Carlos."

Indeed, the camaraderie at Spain's training camp appears to be good, with Rudy Fernandez and Ricky Rubio together like old times at DKV Joventut, and Felipe Reyes and Jorge Garbajosa also hanging out just as if they were with Real Madrid.

"We are like a married couple," Reyes joked. "Before we just saw each other between seasons, but now he is with me in Madrid he is like one of my siblings." 

The team moved down to Las Palmas to start their camp after their formal introduction in Madrid on Wednesday, and captain Navarro already has a good feeling about where they are going.

"Most of the group is the same as last year," he said, referring to the team that took gold at last year's EuroBasket. "We know each other well and the know the style of play.

"We must try to play like last year and have a mind to defend. Then with our quality in attack we have everything."

There has already been great anticipation about the possibility of Spain, who will be defending their world crown in Turkey, coming up against Olympic champions the United States along the way.

But Navarro downplayed the importance of any such fixture.

"Hopefully we can play them, as that would mean we have gone a long way in the championship, but now it is a bit early to talk about it," he said.

"There are many contenders. Argentina, the United States, Serbia, who had a great tournament last year, but it is too early to think about that now. We are only in the early stages of workouts and there is much work remaining."

FIBA