From the Lakers to Girona. From the quarterfinals of the World Cup against the USA (the last game he played, on August 3), to the tenth day of the LEB Gold against Huesca, on December 3 in Fontajau. Marc Gasol will return to play in the city 13 years later and a meteoric career in the NBA, with ring included, then, and yesterday, once he had received a mass bath in front of about 1,500 fans, he explained more details of your expected decision. The pivot once again showed his Girona pride and made it clear, actively and passively, that what he now wanted was to play in Girona. Nothing more than that.
The process of reflection that opened the Catalan player after last summer’s World Cup was the focus of much of the presentation press conference. The first thing the pivot, who will turn 37 in January, considered was whether he wanted to stay active “and I solved that quickly.” From here I had to assess at what level and where, and as he confessed, the fact of training with Bàsquet Girona, as he has done in previous seasons, “generated in me a feeling that goes beyond any reason ». Therefore, no matter how much there has been speculation about a possible return to Barça, the decision did not admit doubts. “Playing in Girona was the first and practically the only option. It’s what I feel like right now. I’m very excited, I know it’s not a typical challenge, but I’m not a typical person either “, he explained.
The appearance of Marc Gasol to solve the unknown of his future brought together many journalists in Fontajau. Also from Barcelona, who insisted on the player for the possible interest of Barça and if it had really been considered to return to the Palau Blaugrana, where he trained before playing with Akasvayu between 2006 and 2008, and end up making the leap in the NBA. They asked him anyway, and the pivot always did the same reflection, which had prioritized Girona in gratitude for what the city gave him in his previous stage, and to continue to grow the club that founded the 2014 and who continues to preside. “If Girona hadn’t been there, I would probably have gone to Barça, but this option was no longer given. With Juan Carlos Navarro I have been as transparent as possible, because I talk to a friend, not to the Barça sports director, and I never set foot in anything, I already knew the path I wanted to follow ».
Being the president of Bàsquet Girona and, from now on, also another member of the squad, would not mean any inconvenience for Gasol. “I’ve been training with the team for eight weeks and when I’m on the court I don’t analyze things like I’m the president, I’m a player,” he assured. From here he said that the goals are “to enjoy the moment every day, because thinking beyond tomorrow or next week makes me spend energy on something that doesn’t matter.” Returning, therefore, the former player of the Grizllies, Toronto and the Lakers in Girona is not known for how long. Nor is making the leap to the ACB an imminent goal. “The team will improve and we will surely turn around the bad results. We have a very young team and we have to gain the confidence we lack, ”he added. Marc Gasol also spoke about the high potential of the LEB Or “where there are very interesting projects and talented players, very physical, and of a demanding tactical level”, and pointed out that from now on you have to deal with travel with long bus journeys and not on comfortable charters.
When CEB Marc Gasol was born in 2014, the origin of the current Bàsquet Girona, it had 5 base teams. “Today we are 3 seniors, 20 base teams, the 3×3 team, the wheelchair basketball team, and we are growing. Our big goal is to play basketball better, for players to gain confidence and be closer together. If this happens we will have better results “, he assured. The pivot has always followed the club very closely despite having competed for thirteen years in the NBA requirement. Of his senior year at the Lakers, he said it had been a “good experience” even though from the outside the results had not looked like it. And in this sense he revealed that already in the summer of 2020 he considered whether to take the step of playing in Girona. “At that time I decided that the Lakers were the best option, to play on a new and different team and have the opportunity to do the same with LeBron James.”
THE NIGHT OF MARC GASOL. His return to Girona brought about 1,500 fans to Fontajau. 1 Gasol greeting the fans after the event. 2 With his wife and daughter.
3 Speaking from the enabled stage.
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