Sergio Scariolo names Rubio and another seven players that couldn't join Spain this summer / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP PHOTO / DANIEL MIHAILESCU Credit AFP PHOTO / DANIEL MIHAILESCU

Spain national team's head coachSergio Scariolo provided this Thursday a pre-list of 22 players for EuroBasket 2022, with the newly-naturalized American guard Lorenzo Brown expected to make his debut with the squad in the upcoming tournament.

Brown will join Juan Nunez, Real Madrid's point guard, and European U-21 MVP Hector Alderete, forward who belongs to Movistar Estudiantes. In addition, Scariolo will be able to count on five veterans who were in the 2019 World Cup, such as captain Rudy Fernandez, guards Sergio Llull and Quino Colom, and Juancho and Willy Hernangomez, two of the three NBA players that he has been able to call together with Usman Garuba.

In this sense, the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) stressed that the incorporation of the Houston Rockets player "to work with the rest of the group", as well as that of the Real Madrid shooting guard Alberto Abalde, "will depend on the evolution of their respective injuries."

In addition, Sergio Scariolo clarified that "for transparency reasons, I would like to add the names of the eight players that we would have liked to be with us, but for physical, family or political reasons of their clubs they couldn't join".

Scariolo listed the names of Ricky Rubio, Alex Abrines, Santi Aldama, Victor Claver, Dani Diez, Sergi Martinez, Pierre Oriola and Guillem Vives. In this way, FC Barcelona don't have any player to this pre-list. Overall, 22 players who will compete for a place among the final 12-man squad.

Players and coaching staff will meet in Madrid next Monday, August 1, to start preparation for the Eurobasket, which starts on September 1. Spain are slated to play in Tbilisi with Bulgaria, Georgia, Belgium, Montenegro and Turkey.

Before the start of the tourney, the national team will play a total of four preparation matches against Greece in Athens (August 9) and Madrid (11) and against Lithuania in Gran Canaria (16) and Vilnius (18). Later, they will play the first two matches of the second qualifying phase for the 2023 World Cup against Iceland in Pamplona (24) and in the Netherlands (27).

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