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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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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Spain's Rudy Fernandez should generate plenty of excitement to Blazers fans in 2008-09. CREDIT/FIBAEUROPE.COM

His name is Rodolfo Farres Fernandez but goes by one name on the back of his jersey: Rudy.

Rudy Fernandez is considered by many as the best player in Europe having starred for DKV Joventut in Badalona. At 6 foot 5, he is listed as a shooting guard but can easily play three positions. He doesn’t start for Spain’s Olympic basketball team but he impacts the game as soon as he checks in.

If Pau Gasol is the big engine of Team Espana then Rudy, 23, is the battery for the simple reason that he plays with boundless energy and brings electricity on the court with his unbelievable hops. Think Manu Ginobili but only much younger.

Rudy’s game is NBA ready. He has the NBA-like ability to finish near the rim and is not afraid of contact. He also plays with a little bit of an attitude, which is rare for a European-born player. His talents have been on full display in Beijing.

In Spain’s opening-game 81-66 victory over Greece, Rudy scored a team-leading 16 points off the bench. Against China, Rudy had 21 points and teamed with another young Spanish star, 17-year-old Ricky Rubio, to help Spain overcome a double-digit deficit and score an 85-75 victory in overtime.

Fernandez, whose sister (Marta) plays for the L.A. Sparks of the WNBA, was originally drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 2007 before his rights were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. His contract from Joventut was bought out in order for him to play for the Blazers this season. Just what the Blazers needed. Another young stud to add to the team’s growing collection of young talent.

If the rest of the world doesn’t know who Rudy Fernandez is then the Beijing Olympics will serve as his springboard to stardom. Who knows? Instead of chants of “Kobe!…Kobe!…” in Beijing, you might hear chants of “Rudy!…Rudy!…”

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