Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (third from left) joins an already loaded Spanish national team. (FIBA EUROPE)

The final game of the 2011 European Championship turned into a huge block party for Serge Ibaka.

In his first major international competition wearing the colors of the Spanish national team, the 21-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder forward had half of Spain’s 10 blocked shots against France and helped Espana capture the EuroBasket title in Lithuania. Spain and France earned automatic berths for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Ibaka scored just four points in 21 minutes off the bench, but it was his stellar defense that keyed an impressive 98-85 victory for Spain, the second-best team in the world and the biggest threat to the United States next summer. Ibaka completely altered the game with three early monster blocks in the first half that powered Spain to a 36-26 lead.

Barcelona’s Juan Carlos Navarro led the Spaniards with a game-high 27 points. Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker paced France with 26 points.

The addition of the 6-foot-10 Ibaka gives Spain, which already boasts 7-footers Pau and Marc Gasol, the most formidable frontline in the world – even better than whatever the U.S. will put together next year. Ibaka prefers to face-up on offense, and he doesn’t mind giving way to the post to the Gasol brothers.

Ibaka calls Pau Gasol possibly the most talented center with the best fundamentals in the NBA. “It will be a dream to play with him,” Ibaka told the Associated Press back in July.

Flashback to the gold medal game against the U.S. in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in which Spain struggled to keep up with the Americans athletically, especially when LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony played power forward. With Ibaka on the roster, Spain will no longer have that issue.

Ibaka was granted Spanish nationality in July, clearing the way for him to help Spain defend its European championship. “Spain is a country that has given me a lot,” Ibaka told the Associated Press. “It will be an honor to give Spain back all that it has given me on the court.”

Ibaka was born in the Republic of Congo but played for Spanish clubs for three years before moving to the NBA in 2009. He maintains a residence in Barcelona.

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Pau Gasol is the emotional leader of the Spanish national team. (FIBA EUROBASKET)

Pau Gasol took the brunt of the criticism during the 2011 NBA playoffs when the Lakers were swept out of the second round by eventual champion Dallas.

Gasol didn’t play his best during the series, and at one point he appeared so out of it that Lakers coach Phil Jackson was seen chastising his star forward basically telling the Spaniard to snap out of his funk.

Rumors swirled all over the Internet that Gasol was having issues with his girlfriend Silvia Lopez Castro, then it was compounded when teammate Shannon Brown tweeted that he was not having an affair with Pau’s girl (memo to
Shannon Brown: if nothing was going on then why tweet about it?)

L.A. Lakers star Pau Gasol with his girlfriend Silvia Lopez Castro. (GETTY IMAGES)

Gasol is one of the nicest NBA players you will ever meet, and something was clearly bothering him last season. More often than not, Pau wears his emotions on his sleeve and he needs to be highly engaged in order to be effective. So, it is important for Pau to regain his confidence and it starts with European Championships in Lithuanian.

Laker fans are hoping that playing for his country and being with familiar faces should help Gasol’s mental state. Sorta like going back home to your mom’s house for some good old-fashioned home cooking to clear your mind. As a bonus, Pau gets to play with his brother, Marc.

So far, the Gasols are rolling through the competition at the European Championships. With the Gasols in the post and international stars Juan Carlos Navarro and Ricky Rubio in the perimeter, Spain may have the most complete team at EuroBasket 2011.

In Spain’s 77-68 victory over Germany in the second round, the Gasol brothers combined for 43 points (Marc had 24 and Pau had 19) to down Dirk Nowitzki’s squad. Spain’s lone loss in the tournament came against Turkey, which is led by Hedo Turkoglu and Omer Asik.

As long as the Gasol brothers are firing on all cylinders, Spain should capture the gold medal at EuroBasket 2011 (although France and host nation Lithuanian are capable of derailing that plan). The top two teams in the tournament earn automatic berths to the 2012 London Olympics.

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Milos Teodosic's game-winning 3-pointer against Spain advances Serbia to the semifinals. (FIBA)

With one incredible long shot, Milos Teodosic lifted Serbia into the semifinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship and ended Spain’s reign as world champions.

After Spain tied the game at 89 with 25.8 seconds left in the game on Marc Gasol’s dunk, Serbia put the ball in the hands of its playmaker, Teodosic, and the Euroleague’s 2010 MVP delivered one of the most dramatic game-winning shots in FIBA history.

As the shot clock and the game clock wound down, Teodosic calmly walked the ball up the middle of the court, launched a shot from almost seven feet behind the 3-point line over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-9 forward Jorge Garbajosa and swished it with three seconds remaining to give Serbia a stunning 92-89 victory in Istanbul, Turkey.

It was Teodosic’s only 3-point basket of the game. He was 0-f0r-6 until Serbia’s last possession.

“He’s a great player and he has a great feeling for the big shot,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said of Teodosic, who thoroughly outplayed Spain’s Ricky Rubio in a battle of Europe’s top point guards.

Spain had one last chance to tie the game, but inexplicably ran a very awkward and low-percentage play for Garbajosa near halfcourt and the Real Madrid forward dribbled the ball off his leg and couldn’t even get a shot attempt as time ran out.

[Watch the video]

The victory was extra sweet for Serbia because just a year ago it was embarrassed by Spain at the 2009 European final. Serbia waited a year to exact revenge on the Spaniards, and it certainly made the most of its opportunity Wednesday night.

Six players scored in double figures for Serbia and the team converted 15 of 30 shots from 3-point range. “We were not able to stop them on the long shots,” Spain guard Juan Carlos Navarro told the Associated Press. “That’s why we lost and I believe that’s why they deserved to win.”

Navarro did his best to keep Spain in the game, leading all scorers with 27 points. Garbajosa finished with 18 and Rudy Fernandez had 15 points, but was 0-for-5 from behind the arc. Rubio, who was in foul trouble in the second half, made just one of four shots and recorded only three assists.

Marko Keselj and Novica Velickovic led a very balanced attack for Serbia, scoring 17 points apiece. Dusko Savanovic added 15 and Nemanja Bjelica had 14. Keselj and Bjelica were a combined 8-for-9 on 3-point shots.

“I think it was a very, very tough game. Maybe the best one until now in Istanbul,” said Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic, whose team will take on either Turkey or Slovenia in the semifinals.

“It’s very difficult to forget this kind of game, but we have to try to forget everything that happened tonight because in two days we will play in the semifinals,” said Teodosic, who finished with 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds. He played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls.

It was sweet redemption for Teodosic, who took his share of shots from the media after being suspended two games for taking part in an ugly brawl during an exhibition game against Greece prior to the start of the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Teodosic said he was sorry for the incident and regretted the embarrassing melee ever happened. He and teammate Nenad Krstic were both suspended at the start of the tournament. Krstic, who plays for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, battled Spain’s Marc Gasol for much of the game. Both players had 13 points, but Krstic outrebounded the Spaniard, 9-5.

It was a near-perfect game for the Serbians, who entered the tournament as a middle-of-the-pack squad and wasn’t considered a serious threat to medal.

Even though the Spaniards entered the World Championship without star players Pau Gasol and Jose Calderon, they were still considered heavy favorites along with the United States and Greece because of their talent and depth (nine Spanish players have NBA ties).

The 2010 World Championship wasn’t very kind to Spain. The 2006 champs lost twice in the preliminary round and capped its tournament with a heartbreaking loss to Serbia.

Having Pau Gasol and a healthy Calderon could have changed Spain’s fortunes at the worlds. But you can’t take anything away from Serbia, who took advantage of Spain’s porous zone defense, some lack of consistency on offense and questionable decisions by Scariolo.

Spain’s players didn’t have a good run, but they certainly didn’t get any help from their head coach. Scariolo couldn’t find a way to get Marc Gasol the ball in key situations, and he also didn’t have his team prepared against France.

There were times when Scariolo felt obligated to play all his players, which hurt the flow of the offense. Having too much talent on one team can be a negative. But more importantly, the high expectations contributed greatly to Spain’s early exit.

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Marc Gasol, who had a solid year with the Memphis Grizzlies last season, won't have his older brother Pau at the 2010 FIBA World Championship but that shouldn't stop Spain from contending for the gold medal. (GETTY IMAGES)

The year 2010 has been very kind to Spain.

In June, Pau Gasol won his second NBA championship with the Lakers. A few weeks later, Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon title. In July, Alberto Contador captured his third consecutive Tour de France title and the Spanish soccer team won its first World Cup.

It has been a banner year for Spain so far, and the country’s great karma could continue at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, which begins Aug. 28.

Despite not having its best player Pau Gasol – who has decided to skip the FIBA World Championship this summer to give his body some much-needed rest – Spain remains one of the favorites to capture the gold medal in Turkey because of three reasons: center Marc Gasol, Pau’s younger brother who is slowly blazing his own trail in the NBA; shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro, the reigning Euroleague player of the year; and his Euroleague teammate point guard Ricky Rubio.

Both men gave the United States fits in last Sunday’s exhibition game in Madrid, a game narrowly won by the U.S. 86-85. Navarro had 20 points to lead Spain and Gasol had 17 points and had his way against the Americans in the low post.

For years, Marc Gasol, nicknamed “El Tanque,” has played in the shadows of his much celebrated brother. But the last couple of years, Marc has come into his own and had a breakout season with the Memphis Grizzlies last year.

The 25-year-old Barcelona native averaged career highs in points (14.6), rebounds (9.3) and field-goal percentage (58%) last season – his second as an NBA pro – and has become one of the central figures in the Grizzlies’ youth movement. The 7-foot-1, 270-pound big man is a much more physical player than his older brother. He could very well be the best post-up player at the World Championship in Turkey, and now is a good time to break out of his brother’s immense shadow.

Marc Gasol may not have his sibling on this year’s Spanish national team but he’ll have his basketball brethren with him, including veteran guard Navarro. Nicknamed “La Bomba” for his big-time long-range shots, Navarro has been a fixture on Spain’s national team for 10 years.

“For many years Juan Carlos and I have known each other and we are like brothers,” Marc Gasol told FIBA.com. The 30-year-old Navarro, a former member of the Memphis Grizzlies who led FC Barcelona to a Euroleague title last season and is the reigning Euroleague Final MVP.

“Being in the same room as Juan Carlos is like being with my brother Pau, because they are very similar,” Gasol added. “I have a lot of affection for Juan Carlos.”

Juan Carlos Navarro will captain Spain at the 2010 World Championship in Turkey.

Indeed, the camaraderie at Spain’s training camp appears to be good, with Rudy Fernandez and Rubio together like old times at DKV Joventut, and Felipe Reyes and Jorge Garbajosa also hanging out just as if they were with Real Madrid.

Spain is a close-knit group, the core of the squad has been together for at least four seasons and much of the roster remains the same when it won the gold medal at the 2006 World Championship. Navarro, the team captain, told FIBA.com that he has a good feeling about the squad. “Most of the group is the same as last year,” he said, referring to the team that took gold at last year’s EuroBasket. “We know each other well and the know the style of play.

“We must try to play like last year and have a mind to defend. Then with our quality in attack we have everything.”

With the injury to Jose Calderon, who appears to be out of the World Championship because of a leg injury, Rubio will assume the starting role at point. Rubio showcased his talents against the U.S. in the exhibition game earlier this week in Madrid. His length bothered the guards and his passing off pick-and-rolls exposed the big men. Rubio will make a huge impact at the World Championship, no doubt.

The rest of Spain’s starting lineup includes Navarro at shooting guard, Fernandez on the wing and Garbajosa and Marc Gasol in the frontcourt. Spain has a NBA-type roster that can match up against any team, including the United States. Its five starters took part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics (minus Pau, of course), losing to the United States in the gold-medal game, and nine of the 12 players on the squad are either playing in the NBA of was drafted by an NBA franchise.

Spain and the United States are obviously the two favorites at the World Championship, and Spain could have a slight edge because it has a much more experienced group and Team USA doesn’t not have a whole lot of size to match up with Marc Gasol in the middle.

But Navarro downplayed the importance of the highly anticipated matchup with the United States and didn’t discount the other teams in the tournament.

“Hopefully we can play them, as that would mean we have gone a long way in the championship, but now it is a bit early to talk about it,” he said. “There are many contenders. Argentina, the United States, Serbia, who had a great tournament last year, but it is too early to think about that now. We are only in the early stages of workouts and there is much work remaining.”

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Kevin Durant blocks Rudy Fernandez's shot as time expired to help the U.S. defeat Spain, 86-85, in Madrid. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

In a possible semifinal preview at the 2010 World Championship in Turkey, the United States and Spain – arguably two of the best teams in the world – went toe to toe in an exhibition game on Sunday in Madrid and the Americans barely won, 86-85, thanks to two free throws by Derrick Rose.

Kevin Durant led the U.S. with 25 points – 16 coming in the second half – and was named the player of the game. As good as Durant was offensively, it was Rose who iced the game. His layup over Spanish center Marc Gasol put the Americans ahead by two at 84-82 and, after the home team took a one-point lead, the Bulls’ All-Star guard drew a foul on Gasol and sank two clutch free throws with 16 seconds left to give the U.S. team a one-point lead.

Spain had a chance to win on its last possession, but give Team USA’s coaching staff a lot of credit for switching to a zone defense that threw off the defending world champions. Durant blocked Rudy Fernandez’s off-balance 3-point shot as time expired.

“It was one of those games that was a learning experience for us and I think we made key plays down the stretch,” Durant told the Associated Press. “We also played as a team and stuck through tough times.”

The “friendly” game was the featured matchup of the Global Community Cup, and even though the exhibition contest didn’t count in the FIBA standings it didn’t stop both teams from putting on a very heated battle inside the arena called The Magic Box.

Rose, who had 13 points in the game, was paired with Chauncey Billups (who had 10 points) in the backcourt to start the game and the two point guards pushed the U.S to a quick start, outscoring Spain 16-3 in the first six minutes and leading 23-16 in the first quarter.

The Spaniards, who trailed by 12 at halftime, rallied behind Euroleague stars Ricky Rubio and Juan Carlos Navarro. Rubio had only seven points, but he impacted the game in other ways. He bothered the U.S. point guards with his length (four steals) and he created offense for his teammates. Navarro led the Spaniards with 20 points, and his 3-point play with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter put Spain ahead, 85-84.

Rubio – who was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009 – came off the bench in the first half, but started in the third quarter and he immediately jump-started Spain’s offense and fired up the home-town crowd with his fancy passes off perfectly executed pick-and-rolls. Felipe Reyes was the beneficiary of some of Rubio’s passes as he finished with 16 points. His layup near the seven-minute mark in the third quarter cut the U.S. lead to 50-45.

Spain made it 55-53 with 5:18 left in the third when Rubio poked the ball away from Rose and Navarro ended up scoring on the other end. Navarro (6-2) was guarded by a bigger and longer Andre Iguodala (6-8) for much of the game, but he was still able to get his points, using his signature runners in the lane.

Spain also took advantage of more opportunities at the free throw line, as it made 17-for-21 in the third quarter. The U.S. only had 10 free throw attempts in the third.

Marc Gasol, the brother of two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol, started at center for Spain and he finished with 17 points. Whenever the Memphis Grizzlies center worked his way down the low block, the U.S. big men had a real difficult time containing him. Tyson Chandler, the only legitimate center for Team USA, ran into some foul problems for much of the game and was not a big factor.

Lamar Odom started the game and played well for the U.S., scoring 12 points and helping the U.S. win the rebounding battle. Odom could very well be the U.S. team’s best option at center when it starts the World Championships on Aug. 28.

It appears that U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski will stick with Durant at power forward and Iguodala at small forward, and Rose and Billups will complete Team USA’s best five.

Russell Westbrook may have earned a spot on the 12-man roster with his superb play against Lithuania the other night, although he missed a wide-open breakaway dunk against Spain on Sunday. Rudy Gay is another small forward who will play some big forward. Stephen Curry, who had been nursing an injured ankle, made some nice plays against Spain and his outside shooting will be needed against zones.

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Though Pau Gasol is focused on winning an NBA championship, his heart is still in Spain.

So, when the Spanish national team suffered a stunning 1-0 loss to Switzerland in its first match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Gasol felt the pain of his countrymen.

“Tough loss. Not the way we expected our team to start the championship,” said the Lakers forward, who plays for Spain’s national team in basketball. “It puts them in a position where they have to win probably the two games they have left against Honduras and Chile.”

Gasol said he watched the Spain-Switzerland match on TV and was just as surprised as anyone when the second-ranked team in the World Cup couldn’t score against the Swiss defense.

“I woke up this morning and I couldn’t sleep anymore,” Gasol said. “It’s 8:30 and I turn the game on and the next thing I know we’re down 1-0 and struggling and scrambling to try to score a goal. It happens. Soccer is an interesting sport and it was unfortunate that we started out that way, but we still have a long ways to go.”

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Juan Carlos Navarro was the captain of the Spanish national team that competed in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. (FIBA)

Like most European sensations, Juan Carlos Navarro wanted to try his luck in the NBA. He played one season with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007-08, teaming with fellow Spaniard Pau Gasol.

The Grizzlies acquired Navarro’s draft rights from the Washington Wizards – which selected the Spanish guard with the 40th overall pick in 2002 – and believed he would be a good fit for an up-and-coming team that needed some savvy veterans.

Navarro appeared in all 82 games for the Grizzlies, starting 30 of them. He averaged 10.9 points per game in 26 minutes and shot 40.2% from the field and 36.1% from behind the 3-point line – his specialty.

But Navarro’s NBA career was short-lived. After Gasol – his friend and teammate on Spain’s national team – was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, Navarro didn’t like where the Grizzlies were headed and began planning a return trip to Europe.

His home team of nine years, Regal FC Barcelona, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. The contract was reportedly worth $20 million for five years, which dwarfs what the Grizzlies paid him ($538,000) for his one-year service.

Juan Carlos Navarro won the Euroleague regular season MVP in 2009 and captured the 2010 Euroleague Final MVP after leading FC Barcelona over Olympiacos. (REUTERS)

For the past two seasons, the man they call “La Bomba” has rediscovered his touch and reasserted himself as one of the elite players in Europe. Navarro won the Euroleague’s MVP in 2009 and recently led FC Barcelona to an 86-68 victory over Olympiacos in the 2010 Euroleague Final in Paris. Navarro scored a game-high 21 points in the final game and was named Euroleague Final Four MVP.

It was FC Barcelona’s second Euroleague championship, and Navarro has been a part of both titles.

He was a role player on the Barcelona team, anchored by MVP Dejan Bodiroga, that won the Euroleague title in 2003. Seven years later, Navarro has not only become the face of FC Barcelona – along with fellow Spanish superstar Ricky Rubio – but he has emerged as arguably the No. 1 player in Europe.

“I am very happy to be here. All our hard work has paid off,” the 30-year-old Spaniard told Euroleague.net. “We did a very good job and I am very happy for my teammates. We stepped on court ready to play such an important game.

“My first Euroleague title was special because it was the first for the club, but being a more important player this time, this is just as special, too.”

Navarro is a unique talent. He is not blessed with great size (listed at 6 feet 4 but probably closer to 6-2) and quickness, but he finds various ways to score. Not only is Navarro a great outside shooter, but he also has an unstoppable one-handed runner or floater that is very difficult to stop and frustrates defenders because it’s an off-balance, unorthodox shot on the move. The San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker and Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose have this shot in their arsenal, and more and more point guards are practicing it.

Navarro is currently participating in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. When Gasol decided to skip the worlds and rest his body after a grueling NBA season with the two-time NBA champion Lakers, Navarro was named captain of the Spanish national team. He led Spain in scoring (16 points per game) during the preliminary round and shot 54% from the field – 40% from 3-point range.

Though Spain finished a disappointing 3-2 in Group D it still managed to advance to the round of 16, where it knocked out tournament heavyweight Greece, 80-72, in a heated game. Navarro made seven of 10 field goals against the Greeks, including a crucial 3-point shot with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.

Navarro had plenty of help in the game against Greece. Rudy Fernandez scored five of his 14 points in a 9-0 Spain run midway through the fourth quarter that pushed Spain’s lead from one point to 10 points. Fran Vazquez and Felipe Reyes combined for 12 points and 17 rebounds off the bench.

Spain advanced to the quarterfinals where it will face Serbia, which defeated Croatia 73-72 in the round of 16.

Dimitris Diamantidis and Nikos Zisis each had 16 points to lead Greece. After the game, Diamantidis told reporters that he is retiring from international competition.

Greece has now lost to Spain in the last four major FIBA tournaments. Spain defeated the Greeks in the final of the World Championship in 2006 and in the semifinals of EuroBasket in 2007. Spain also beat Greece in the preliminary round at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and again defeated the Greeks in the semifinals in Poland last year.

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After posting a perfect record during pool competition, the French national team were far from perfect in its 86-66 loss to Spain in the quarterfinals of the 2009 European Championships.

The devastating one-sided defeat is just the latest in a long line of disappointments for France on the international stage since 2000 when it captured the silver medal in the Olympic Games. Despite a roster that boasts several NBA players, France has never finished higher than fourth in the FIBA World Championships (and that was in 1954), hasn’t finished higher than third in the past five European Championships, including a shocking eighth-place finish in 2007, and has failed to qualify in the past two Olympics.

France, led by Tony Parker and Ronny Turiaf, was eliminated by Spain in the 2009 European Championships.

There is no reason for France to be a mediocre player in international basketball. Les Bleus is one of just a handful of countries in the world that can field a legitimate NBA starting lineup, starting with point guard Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), swingman Nicolas Batum (Portland Trail Blazers), swingman Mickael Pietrus (Orlando Magic), forward Boris Diaw (Charlotte Bobcats) and center Ronny Turiaf (Golden State Warriors). Off the bench, it can call on Mickael Gelabale (Oklahoma City Thunder), Johan Petro (Denver Nuggets), Yakhouba Diawara (Miami Heat) and Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls).

France has sent more players to the NBA than Spain, but yet the Spaniards have enjoyed much more success.

That was evident during the quarterfinals of this year’s European Championships as Spain, led by Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol, played at a much higher level, running up a 23-12 lead early and extending the gap from there with hot shooting and a smothering defense.

“That was a tough game for us,” Diaw said. “They just played better than us from the first to the last minute. We were behind them pretty much the whole game, and trying to come back on a great team like Spain is tough.”

Gasol led Spain with 28 points and nine rebounds, dominating in the paint on both ends by muscling down low for baskets on the offensive end, and blocking three shots and altering more on the defensive side. And that was despite France throwing Turiaf, Diaw and Florent Pietrus at him.

“It’s no surprise — he’s one of the best players in the world,” Diaw said of Gasol. “Obviously it’s difficult to play against him. You have to double-team him and because they have great players around, you can’t help because they have (Rudy) Fernandez and (Juan Carlos) Navarro who are great shooters.”

Florent’s brother, Mickael, did not play in this year’s Euro Finals, as did Petro, Gelabale, Diawara and Noah. Because France did not have its full compliment of NBA standouts, it was forced to rely heavily on Parker, who struggled against Spain’s suffocating defense.

Spain coach Sergio Scariolo praised his team’s defensive effort, singling out Ricky Rubio and Raul Lopez for limiting Parker – the undeniable star and face of the French national team – to just six points on 1-of-6 shots from the field and had three turnovers. The Spurs’ All-Star point guard had been averaging 16 points per game.

“They did a fantastic job on Tony,” Scariolo said. “They were supported by the team, of course, but the individual effort was unbelievable.”

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The New York Knicks are pursuing a trade for European sensation Ricky Rubio, who was taken at No. 5 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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China's Yao Ming battles Spain's Pau Gasol at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Pau Gasol and his Spanish teammates was put in an embarassing position of having to explain why they agreed to pose for an advertisement that reflected a racist tone.

The ad showed members of the Spanish team using their index fingers to stretch their eyes to make “slant eyes” as part of media day in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. Gasol and his teammates thought the gesture was innocent and was not meant to be demeaning. But after a London paper recently published the controversial photo, Spain’s men’s basketball team was thrusted into the spotlight and needed to defend its actions.

What adds fuel to this fiery issue is that Spain has been in this position before. The Associated Press reported that Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton was subjected to abuse at a Barcelona circuit in February, while former Spain coach Luis Aragones also used a racist remark about France striker Thierry Henry to motivate one of his players. Monkey chants rained down on England’s black players during an international friendly against Spain in a match played in Madrid in 2004, soon after Aragones’ outburst.

So, enter Pau Gasol. The Los Angeles Lakers center and one of the most revered and beloved athletes in Europe and around the world.

Gasol told Yahoo! Sports: “Some of us didn’t feel comfortable doing it just because to me it was a little clownish for our part to be doing that. But the sponsors insisted and insisted. I think it is just a bad idea I guess to do that, but it was never intended to be offensive or racist against anybody.

“I didn’t find it very funny. I didn’t find it offensive, either. I guess some guys didn’t mind. To me I don’t want to be that way, I guess, to be doing that stuff. If anybody feels offended by it we totally apologize for it. We never meant anything offensive by it.”

Good for Pau Gasol.

Whether his apology was by his own admission or Spain’s way of backpedaling, Gasol was a big enough man to step forward and state the obvious that the ad was done in poor taste and should have been pulled. Since he’s always front and center when it comes to Spanish basketball, Gasol wasted no time in diffusing the issue.

If this incident put a black eye on Team Espana, at least Gasol is doing his best in icing the injury and being the bigger man and admitting fault.

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