Sergio Scariolo, Spanish basketball coach, announced this Tuesday the list of those called up for the next two games of the qualification window for Eurobasket 2025, which will be played on February 22 and 25 against Latvia and Belgium respectively, where the return of Ricky Rubio. The Barcelona point guard is the big news on a list of 14 plus six invited prospects. In this window, from February 19 to 27, Spain will face Latvia on Thursday the 22nd at 8:00 p.m. in the Príncipe Felipe pavilion in Zaragoza and will close against Belgium in Charleroi on Sunday the 25th at 5:30 p.m.
The news comes a week after Ricky Rubio signed for Barcelona with a contract until the end of the season, thus taking another step in his recovery from the mental health problems that led him to stop his professional activity last August. In fact, the 33-year-old Spanish international gave up playing in the World Cup with the Spanish team. He also announced on January 4 his retirement from the NBA after twelve seasons and on January 30 he joined the Barça first team’s training sessions as part of the final phase of his rehabilitation.
After a week of testing and positive feelings for all parties involved, Barça confirmed the hiring of Rubio, whom it has registered in the ACB and in the Euroleague after the player passed the medical examination at the Joan Gamper Sports City and at the Barcelona Hospital.
However, this does not mean that the point guard’s reappearance in an official match will happen immediately. In fact, Barça specified in the transfer announcement that “the agreement is subject to the player’s evolution” and his return to the competition will come when he “considers it appropriate.”
On this return home, the point guard has found an environment that is very familiar to him, with four teammates from the Spanish team in the locker room (Willy Hernangómez, Darío Brizuela, Joel Parra and Álex Abrines), and several former teammates in the structure of the club, starting with Grimau and his assistant Víctor Sada in the coaching staff, and Juan Carlos Navarro in the sports management.
The point guard is the big news on a list with 14 players: Ricky himself, Alberto Abalde, Carlos Alocén, Darío Brizuela, Victor Claver, Alberto Díaz, Jaime Fernández, Rudy Fernández, Juancho Hernangómez, Xavi Lopez-Aróstegui, Joel Parra, Jaime Pradilla, Sebas Saiz and Yankuba Sima.
In addition, there are six young guests: Sergio De Larrea, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordi Rodriguez Lucas Langarita, Mario Sant-Supery and Madrid star Eli John Ndiaye.
