Serge Ibaka feels Spain has an equal chance of winning the basketball gold at the London Olympics – NBA Update
After reporting to camp a day earlier than expected, Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder feels that Spain have an equal chance to win the gold at the London Olympics as that of United States, a team they lost the final to
in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"They are just like us, they also have players with a lot of talent," Ibaka said "They are a different team to 2008, but their players are still very good."
This would be the first time that Congolese born will represent Spain in the Olympics after becoming a Spanish national in 2010. He has already made significant impact with the Spanish team and was a key figure in Spain’s run to
the European Championship.
Considering the amount of talent present among the Spanish ranks, there can be no doubt that Spain can matchup very well to team USA, who are coming in to the Olympics as stand out favourites.
Ibaka has three of his team mates in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden representing USA in the Olympics, and is well aware of the talent the Americans have at their disposal.
He feels the Spanish contingent need to not waste any more time and get their preparations on the way.
"There's no time to rest, we have to find our rhythm for the competition already for these friendly games we have, see how we feel,"
Along with Ibaka, the Spanish contingent also features Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez, all players who were also present in the team four years ago. There is still a lot of time left for the Spaniards
to get fully acquainted to each other before they head into a series of friendly fixtures including one with the United States on July 24th.
This is the only time these two sides will face off against each other until or unless they live up to their bidding and meet in the final due to take place on 12th August. Ibaka knows that the road to the finals will
not be an easy one;
"We should only worry about our own preparations because it's a long road to the final," Ibaka said. "The most important thing is to give our all to get there."
Both Spanish and American contingents will kick off their Olympic campaigns on July 29th.
Tags: