After successfully passing the first two tests against Iran, Spain They are seen this Thursday (7:30 p.m.) at the Martín Carpena of Malaga with France in a much more demanding duel. The Gauls, bronze in the last World Cup, arrive with the list of 12 definitive in which the NBA has a place Gobert Y Fournier, among other European basketball figures such as Of lap or Heurtel.
Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo, meanwhile, has 16 players after Sebas discards Saiz and Sergi Martinez, and you could use this match as well to assess the options you may have to finalize the final list. The capacity will be limited, as happened in Valencia Y Madrid, but the technician trusted that “those who are will make themselves heard.” It is expected, in principle, that more than 2,000 spectators may be present at the Malaga coliseum.
The Selection He did another training session yesterday on the stage of the meeting, with good feelings and aware that the difficulty will increase from now on.
“The preparation is developing well, the team is training well, in a good line of work, with intensity and concentration,” said Sergio Llull, who also explained that “the first two games have gone well as a contact, and now it is true that tomorrow the rival is from a larger entity.”
The Menorcan base values that France “It is a very physical team, very athletic, which is sure to make things very difficult for us, so it will be a good test to see what level we are at right now.” For Llull, one of the keys to facing the French is “to control the rebound, and move the ball well in attack.”
For France, which has been preparing for the last few weeks in Pau, this will be the first rehearsal before the Games. Technician Vincent Collet has been recruiting players as their club commitments ended and the last to arrive have been the NBA. In fact, Nicolas Batum (recently dropped from the playoff with the Clippers) will not join the expedition until Friday, in principle.
“We started training on the 24th but we are not yet a team,” he admitted. Collet. “These working days have to allow us to recover the collective spirit. More important than systems are associations and complicities ”, he added.
Framing in group A together with Iran, the United States and the Czech Republic, they start as one of the medal contenders.
Among the members of the ‘bleu’ team is the former Barça player Thomas
Heurtel that after passing the medical examinations in Madrid prior to his signing with the Real looking to overcome a foot injury that called into question his presence at the Tokyo Games. Hence, it is not likely to line up today.
“The forecasts are optimistic and we are hopeful that he can reappear soon but he needs to recover from this injury,” he admitted. Collet.
In any case today’s duel in Malaga A rematch will be pending between the two teams as both will meet again on Saturday in Paris before leaving Europe
Pau’s last game in Spain?
Tonight at the Martín Carpena Málaga pavilion could be the last match of Pau Gasol’s career in Spain if Sant Boi decides to retire at the end of this season. The team will then travel to Paris for the ‘rematch’ against France, next Saturday, and the last test before the Tokyo Games will be next week in Las Vegas against the United States.
The party is completed with the feminine
The clash of the men’s teams will be followed (10pm on the same stage) by a confrontation between the women’s teams, also both in their preparation for the Olympic Games. After a few days of rest, Spain recovered its work pattern this Monday in Malaga, trying to overcome the setback of the Eurobasket, in which it could not qualify for the Pre-World Cup.
This will be the first meeting of Lucas Mondelo’s players after the championship in Valencia, where France won silver. Beating the galas, which prevailed in two preparation matches before the European Championship, may be a key boost for the Spanish team.
“We are back and I am very happy to be here,” said Alba Torrens, absent from the European Championship due to the positive result for Covid. “Rest has been very important to disconnect in every way. In the Eurobasket we did not get the results we wanted and that hurts us, but we have gained perspective and we have seen that we were competing at the highest level with, for example, the European champion (Serbia) “