Head Coach Chus Mateo has called up 15 players for the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualification matches against Montenegro in Podgorica (Thursday 26th) and Greece in Santiago de Compostela (Sunday 29th). Six additional players have been invited to join the group.
Accompanied by the President of the Spanish Basketball Federation, Elisa Aguilar, Head Coach Chus Mateo announced this Friday at the FEB Museum in Alcobendas (Madrid) the roster for the fifth qualification window for the 2027 FIBA World Cup. On this occasion, Mateo has opted to include eight players whose clubs compete in the EuroLeague, plus seven others who participate in the Liga Endesa. This makes a group of 15 led by three 2019 World Champions (Willy and Juancho Hernangómez and Pierre Oriola) and six 2022 European Champions (the Hernangómez brothers, Darío Brizuela, Jaime Fernández, Joel Parra and Jaime Pradilla).
The roster consists of a total of 21 players: 15 called up and six invited.
CALLED UP
Alberto Abalde (Real Madrid), 27 caps
Francis Alonso (Río Breogán), 11 caps
Ferran Bassas (Kids&Us Manresa), 14 caps
Darío Brizuela (FC Barcelona), 75 caps
Álvaro Cárdenas (Valencia Basket), 9 caps
Jaime Fernández (La Laguna Tenerife), 47 caps
Juancho Hernangómez (Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Greece), 119 caps
Willy Hernangómez (Unicaja), 88 caps
Pierre Oriola (Kids&Us Manresa), 44 caps
Joel Parra (FC Barcelona), 58 caps
Oriol Pauli (iLERNA Lleida), 18 caps
Jaime Pradilla (Real Madrid), 53 caps
Álex Reyes (Asisa Joventut), 4 caps
Mario Saint-Supéry (Valencia Basket), 17 caps
Santi Yusta (Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Turkey), 31 caps
INVITED
Héctor Alderete (La Laguna Tenerife)
Carlos Alocén (Cajasiete Gran Canaria), 9 caps
Mikel Sanz (iLERNA Lleida)
Yankuba Sima (Alba Berlin, Germany), 25 caps
Pablo Tamba (Kids&Us Manresa)
Adrián Torres (Asisa Joventut)
Willy Hernangómez will captain a group of experienced players who will face two crucial matches for #LaFamilia. On Thursday 26th (7:00 p.m.) they will play Montenegro in Podgorica. Three days later, on Sunday 29th (6:00 p.m.) they will host Greece in Santiago de Compostela at the Multiusos Fontes do Sar, which is expected to be at full capacity (very few tickets remain available for purchase).
The national team will begin their training camp on Monday, November 23rd in Guadalajara. A total of 13 players will gather there: 7 of the 15 called up (Alonso, Bassas, Fernández, Willy, Oriola, Paulí and Reyes) along with the six invited players. From the invited group, Alocén, Sanz and Sima will remain in the team's rotation through Santiago de Compostela. The other three (Alderete, Tamba and Torres) will train with the team during their stay in Guadalajara.
Brizuela, Parra, Juancho Hernangómez, Cárdenas and Saint-Supéry will join the squad before departing for Podgorica, so they will be available for the match against Montenegro. Abalde, Pradilla and Yusta will join directly in the Galician capital to play the match against Greece.
Chus Mateo, as Head Coach, will lead the following coaching staff.
Assistant Coaches: Guillermo Frutos, Paco Aurioles and Arturo Ruiz
Physician: Juanfry Abellán
Physical Therapists: Samuel Castillo, José Antonio Fernández and Tomás Richartz
Strength and Conditioning Coaches: Javi H. Bello and María Reina
Performance: Fausto Jiménez
Delegates: Javier Cabrerizo and David Ortega
Team Manager: Carlos Jiménez
Chus Mateo: "We have detected an extraordinary commitment from the players who wanted to be part of this roster without any doubt"
"We had to think hard, but the commitment from the clubs, especially those in the EuroLeague, and the players has helped us. We believed this was the right moment to make this call-up. It was the most efficient way we saw to put together a competitive roster of players who have represented Spain in windows and summers, so we can continue building a compact and united team to achieve the best performance for Spanish basketball. The guys, seeing that the situation was tight and we needed to make the World Cup, wanted to be part of it and that says a lot about their commitment".
Elisa Aguilar: "I am proud to feel again the sense of belonging that our players have"
"We are in an important moment and that support from the arena, Fontes Do Sar, the commitment of the players and the staff, led by Chus, and those of us who accompany them, all those elements will bring us closer to the goal of this training camp, which is for us to be protagonists in world basketball".