Gasol, Spain look to strike back with a vengeance

MEMPHIS (FIBA Basketball World Cup/EuroBasket 2015) - Spain have had several months to digest what transpired in Madrid in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup on 10 September.

Their 65-52 upset defeat to France was one of the most painful defeats the country has suffered in sport.

While the members of that Spanish side all agree that it's important to look forward and not back, the sting of the loss remains.

For Marc Gasol, the Spain 2014 disappointment will fuel the players' hunger for glory this summer.

"We are going to be very motivated," Gasol said to FIBA.com.

"What happened last year was disappointing, but now we need to look forward.

"We still have to know who is going to be our new head coach."

I am sure that we are going to have a great roster and we will be ambitious for sure. - Gasol

Gasol, the starting center for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game, showed up at the World Cup last year as an elite player but against France, he did not look like one.

In 30 minutes on the court, he made just one of seven shots and collected four rebounds.

It was his worst performance of the tournament and it took everyone by surprise because in their Group A meeting in Granada, Gasol had shot the ball well and been one of the best players on the court.

The draw for EuroBasket 2015, which is a qualifying tournament for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, has put Spain into some hard Group Phase games.

They will play in Group B in Berlin against Serbia, Italy, Turkey, Iceland and hosts Germany.

"The group is very tough," Gasol said.

"The EuroBasket is a competition where you always have a lot of very competitive teams and our group has a lot of those teams.

"We will need to win as many games as we can during that first round in order to gain confidence and be at our best level for the knockout stage.

The EuroBasket is a very competitive tournament and you need to play every game at your best level. - Gasol

"I remember that we had a complicated start of the competition in 2009 in Poland and we want to avoid going through that experience again."

At EuroBasket 2009, Spain arrived searching for a first title in the competition and were in danger of bowing out after losses in two of their first four game.

They fell to Serbia in their opener, then edged Great Britain and Slovenia, only to lose to Turkey.

The players finally found their rhythm and reeled off five consecutive victories to lift the trophy.

"In this kind of tournament, you need to start by winning games to not put yourself in a complicated situation," Gasol said.

After Gasol plays for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA postseason, he is going to be a free agent.

There are sure to be some interesting offers on the table.

"I don't think about it at the moment," he said.

"When I have to take a decision, I will analyze all the propositions and take the best one for me.

"I am not worried about it and I am only focused on the current season, trying to help the team achieve something huge."

Memphis will square off against the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round of the Western Conference Playoffs with Game 1 on Sunday.

Go to www.eurobasket2015.org for full coverage of EuroBasket 2015.

FIBA