Lorenzo Brown, an exciting debut between controversies: "They make me feel at home"

• Chronicle The new Spain dawns with a festival

• Opinion The second step will be harder, no doubt...

Lorenzo Brown

had all the lights on him at the Tblisi Arena.

He has them perched even before he put on the shirt of what was going to be his new team for the first time, since that spring that his future was conceived between dispatches.

What is usual in the rest -five of the six teams in the group are led by American guards, for example-, in Spain it is a rarity that was presumed.

Never before has anyone been nationalized without a minimum link to the country.

This time the need was pressing, he offered himself, the Federation pulled the strings and

, who knew him from his time in the Raptors, received him delighted.

Beyond controversy, the sporting debut in a major tournament of the new Maccabi player fulfilled expectations in the beating against undemanding Bulgaria.

Because the shyness shown during the long August of preparation turned into determination at the start of the Eurobasket.

First, in the tasks of direction and defense that the coach demands of him, then, with the game already broken, showing an ease in scoring that Spain will also need in what is to come.

He finished with 17 points (three triples), five assists and three steals.

"I felt good.

In this group they make me feel at home.

I only wanted to contribute my energy and do what the coach asks of me », he confessed at the official press conference after the match, next to Scariolo.

Because the Federation decided that, in the face of the avalanche of criticism - especially those that have come from the players' union headed by

- Lorenzo Brown does not grant interviews.

A way to protect a player from whom they value their initial interest in being part of the selection ("I don't get into politics, I play basketball. I couldn't say no to this opportunity that presented itself. I've grown up watching this team with players like Pau and Marc", he declared in the presentation), his "humility" and, especially, his effort to integrate, even overcoming some physical problems in recent days.

The family, pending

But the criticism -not of him, but of the nationalization process-, which even came from totems like Rudy Fernández, has been transformed into praise.

The attitude of Brown, who has made good friends especially with the

, has completed the integration process.

Because, despite his 32 years, the Georgia base - yesterday he admitted that his family and friends watched his debut from his native Roswell, despite getting up early - is expected to continue with Spain next summer in the World Cup (they could already be there Ricky Rubio and Alocén), where to get a ticket for the Games.

But, of all, the one who has shown himself the most as Brown's shield has been Scariolo himself.

Although yesterday he did not pronounce himself, during the last weeks he has vehemently raised his voice in defense of a pupil who "has not removed anyone's position because there was no one qualified for the starting position of the national team's base."

The challenges for Lorenzo will soon raise the bar.

(Georgia) awaits him on Saturday

and before the end of the first phase

, the new electric Unicaja point guard who leads Montenegro, or, to close the first phase, the Turkish devil

.

Because the focus of the controversy will continue to rest on him.

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• Ministry of Defence

• Montenegrin

• Georgia

• Ricky Rubio

• Pau Gasol

• eurobasketball

• Bulgaria