Scariolo lists pre-Olympic qualifiers without Ricky Rubio

YesErgio Scariolo announced this Thursday the list of those called up for the pre-Olympic games that will take place in Valencia from July 2 to 7. The coach proposed a pre-selection of 22 players, among which the absence of Ricky Rubio after a difficult end to the season with Barcelona, ​​both physically and mentally, stands out, as well as the presence of Lorenzo Brown, who was not present at last summer’s World Cup.

“Ricky asked us to give him time to think. He has to make final decisions about his life and we have the utmost respect for our players,” the coach said of the absence of the point guard, who arrived at Barcelona mid-season. As for Lorenzo Brown, Scariolo hopes he can “reboot soon after a very difficult season. It’s pretty worn out.” The Maccabi point guard will be one of the last to join the team, as he will move with his family to the United States and then return.

In anticipation of the end of the Endesa League final, the available players will gather in Malaga this Monday. They will then move to Madrid where the team will play their first friendly in preparation for the pre-Olympic games against Italy. It will be on Tuesday, June 25th at the WiZink Center. On Friday the 28th they will face the Dominican Republic at the Pedro Ferrandis Pavilion in Alicante.

They will then make their pre-Olympic debut on Tuesday 2 July against Lebanon, before facing Angola a day later to complete the available first stage. There won’t be many crossings. The semi-finals will take place on Saturday 6 July, with Spain facing Finland, Poland or the Bahamas. If they win on Sunday, July 7, they will face the final, the winner of which will receive the coveted only ticket to the Games.

The draw for the Olympic tournament groups placed the winner of the Valencia Pre-Olympic Games in a tough group along with Australia, Canada and the Athens Pre-Olympic winner, whose favorite will be Greece’s Antetokounmpo. The eight teams that have already qualified include France, the United States, Serbia, South Sudan, Japan, Germany, Australia and Canada.