• Chronicle: Spain no longer doubts: it will fight for the medals after defeating Poland
  • Chaos: The odyssey of three Spanish journalists to work in China
  • Record: Rick Rubio, top assistant in the history of the World Cups
  • Opinion: Defense and solidarity, the keys to growth in Spain
  • Tournament: World of the nonsense that despairs the selections

There was joy, more than other times. That not by habit this group ceases to value what has been achieved. And this Tuesday at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, Spain wrote another beautiful page in its history. A semifinals of a World Cup are major words: it had only happened once before (2006). The great news is that, at this summit, there is no hint of conformity. The national team dares to pronounce the forbidden now: getting gold is no longer a chimera, it is reality.

It was Ricky Rubio , also the most clairvoyant before the tape recorders, who explained it. The one who exhibited the incentive that moves this group without expiration date. "The heart" as the engine of everything. “We have to win both to be champions and that is the goal right now. It will happen or not, we will see. But now we have something very important in mind, ”he threw the base, top scorer again against Poland (19 points), also night to remember his: he became the player with the most assists in the history of the World Cups (106 with nine before Poland), surpassing the Argentine Pablo Prigioni.

Because he has it between eyebrow and eyebrow and from the first day of concentration. Ricky usually puts his career in perspective, thunderous in the beginning, where he monopolized praise, medals and titles. With less than 20 years he was Olympic silver and European champion with Barça, among many other milestones. But later the fight for the victories was vetoed for him in the NBA, where he has barely stepped on the playoffs these last two seasons with Utah. He was not in the gold of 2015, because that European was lost due to injury. That is why this World Cup has a lot of special for him. «I saw it with envy in 2006 and now we are here. We know that we are not the most talented team in the tournament, but we do have a huge heart that has taken us to the semifinals and who knows ... », he explained.

It is the gold of Saitama that seemed unique, which was seen by those who came to the national team with admiration, but also as spur. But the World Cup seemed cursed ever since. And that is not forgotten. «I took it as a very personal challenge, for the two World Cups in which we didn't have much luck. Now we commented with Llull and Claver , that we are the generation that has not tried the world gold. He has tried the European and the Olympic Games ... The goal is met, but we don't want to stop here, ”Ricky finished.

"You have to squeeze until Sunday"

Nor did Marc forget the past. «It's 13 years from a medal to here. I know how difficult it is. I still remember the triple of Teodosic in Turkey, of the game obviously against France in Madrid, ”he admitted, to re-emphasize this infinite ambition, this commitment:“ I know this is not going to be forever, I will not be able to spend all my life in the selection. You have to squeeze until Sunday.

The goal, which was also to obtain a direct ticket for the Games next summer, is played by Spain with the fingertips. It is only necessary that either Australia or the USA win their duels this Wednesday. Or both and avoid the bizarre Pre-Olympic. «If at the beginning everything had been told that we were going to be among the first four teams in the world ...», Scariolo began his encounter with the media. «The minimum objective is fulfilled. We do not want to stop competing, that is evident, ”he admitted, to emphasize a more vital aspect of the apparent in this exhausting World Cup:“ We are good for both days off, more than one player was touched or tired, and it will be good for us ».

Although undoubtedly, the most expressive of all, in the celebrations and in the messages, was Pierre Oriola , looking directly at the camera: «To all those people who did not trust this team, who already gave him as a loser from the first minute, Well, nothing, for you. We will try to be in the final ».

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