Madrid (AFP)
The Spanish basketball world champions were welcomed as heroes on Monday night in Madrid, on their return from China the day after their victory in the final against Argentina (95-75), Sunday in Beijing.
Cries of "champions, champions!" players marched aboard a double-decker bus in the downtown streets, cheered by a jubilant crowd.
When they arrived on a stage in Columbus Square, the players were introduced one by one as the famous English Queen's anthem sounded: "We are the champions".
"Do you know why this team was world champion because it never gave up in difficult times," said coach Sergio Scariolo. "Lowering the arm was never an option," he added.
Thank you "to my family and my second big family, these great players," said Captain Rudy Fernandez, 34, "Long live Spanish basketball!"
"The final was incredible, the team showed its strength," said AFP a fan to the angels, Alejandro Garcia, a young lawyer, who noted "the state of mind that has shown this team which appeared at the end of the cycle and which managed to be reborn ".
"Ricky Rubio has managed the World Cup of his life," another fan said of the leader of the Roja, named MVP.
The team arrived in the evening in Madrid. Rudy Fernandez got off the plane with the trophy in his hands, the second won by Spain after the 2006 world title against Greece in the final.
The players, the stars Marc Gasol and Sergio Llull in mind, were also received by the royal couple Philippe VI and Letizia, and by the president of the government, Pedro Sanchez.
"You made us go through all the emotions," said Pedro Sanchez who in his youth had played basketball in the Madrid team Estudiantes. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for having worn the colors of Spain at the top, the World Championship," he added.
© 2019 AFP