Spain guard Ricky Rubio says the national team can't afford to relax for a single moment at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China this summer, when it takes aim at a first podium finish in the competition since the 2006 title run in Japan.
In the Group Phase, only the top two sides in each of the eight groups of the First Round will progress to the Second Round. The top two sides in each of those groups will then advance to the Final Phase, which opens with the Quarter-Finals.
"THE GROUP AT FIRST GLANCE SEEMS EASY BUT WE HAVE TO BE AWARE THAT IN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP, ALL VICTORIES AND LOSSES GO TO THE NEXT ROUND SO WE ABSOLUTELY CANNOT LOSE OUR CONCENTRATION."- Rubio
Drawn in Group C with Iran, Puerto Rico and Tunisia, Spain, the No. 2 side in the FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE, will be prohibitive favorites against each of those opponents.
If they progress, Sergio Scariolo's charges are likely to square off against Serbia and Italy, two foes it has fallen to as recently as FIBA EuroBasket 2015.
La #SelMAS 🇪🇸 debutará en la #FIBAWC @FIBAWC el 31 de Agosto contra Túnez 🇹🇳
— Baloncesto España (@BaloncestoESP) March 16, 2019
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"The group at first glance seems easy but we have to be aware that in this championship, all victories and losses go to the next round so we absolutely cannot lose our concentration," Rubio warned. "But we have a lot of confidence."
Spain have had struggles early in tournaments before.
At EuroBasket 2009, the team teetered on the edge of an early knockout, losing two of its first four games, but rebounded with five consecutive victories to capture the title. At the following year's World Cup in Turkey, the Spaniards lost two of their first three games but hit back to reach the Quarter-Finals before falling to Serbia in the final seconds. At EuroBasket 2015, Spain fell in two of their first three games but then marched to claim their third continental crown.
As for the potential Second Round games against Serbia and Italy, Rubio, who is currently competing in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, said: "It's too early to talk about them. We have to wait and see which players end up playing for the national teams and then, which teams go through from the First Round. That's what the focus has to be on."