The Oklahoma City Thunder forward, who represented Spain at the Olympics, is disgruntled at the treatment meted out to him and has hinted he might not participate in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016
Serge Ibaka put up pretty good numbers at the London Olympics, which was capped off with a 12 point and 9 rebounds performance in just 22 minutes in the Final against team USA.
However the limited amount of playing time throughout the competition has gotten the 22 year old pretty upset. And the young power forward is inclined to not participate in the Brazil Olympics. Ibaka is known for his high work
ethic and the energy he brings to court, but despite his best efforts, he saw a constant decline in his role as the Olympic proceedings went on.
According to several reports, that did not sit well with the Thunder big man and he tried to separate himself from the rest of the Spanish contingent throughout the games.
“If things continue like this, I will not return,” – Ibaka
Ibaka’s comments do leave a bad impression and he should have seen it coming. The limited playing time for him was understandable because Spain had the Gasol Brothers to lead the starting line up on the front court. The duo has
established itself in the team over the past decade and should not be expected to roll over for a player who is new to the Spanish system.
A case can be made for Ibaka as veteran Felipe Reyes was given preference in the latter games. But, that eventually turned out to be a good move as Reyes proved to be big impact player off the bench.
Ibaka does not need to look too far to understand the situation. His team mates James Harden and Russell Westbrook hardly got any playing time for the Americans during the tournament. In fact, he should be happy with the 15.2 minutes
a game and going into the future as his reputation enhances, the minutes will increase.
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