Spain loses its most important player for the first FIBA window of the second qualifying phase for the 2027 FIBA World Cup. Santi Aldama will not participate in the training camp starting on the 24th, according to the Spanish Basketball Federation, and will miss games against Portugal on August 28 in Zaragoza and Greece on August 31 in Athens.
The reason is medical scheduling. The Canary Islander pushed his options to the limit to make it, but he is returning from an injury that required surgery, and both the FEB and the player have preferred not to force recovery timelines or rush his preparation for the NBA season. It will be his fifth season in the North American league and his first with the Dallas Mavericks, following the trade that took him out of Memphis.
The Federation and head coach Chus Mateo wanted to emphasize the player's commitment, who maximized his preparation until the last moment to try to be available for both games.
No replacement: roster stays at 14
The head coach will not call anyone to replace him. The roster is made up of Álvaro Cárdenas, Baba Miller, Sergio de Larrea, Jaime Pradilla, Mario Saint-Supéry, Darío Brizuela, Alberto Díaz, Hugo González, Izan Almansa, Willy Hernangómez, Aday Mara, Santi Yusta, Juancho Hernangómez and Joel Parra.
It's a group with plenty of size—Willy, Almansa, Mara, Pradilla—and with playmaking distributed between the veteran experience of Alberto Díaz and the youth of Cárdenas, De Larrea and Saint-Supéry, but without the player who best combines athleticism, shooting and court vision in Spain's current frontcourt.
A watered-down Greece-Spain matchup
The absence has a curious consequence for the Athens game on the 31st: the matchup loses both of its NBA stars. Giannis Antetokounmpo will also not play the window with Greece, at the request of the Miami Heat, as we reported last week. The OAKA was expecting Giannis against Aldama and will have a game of role players, which for Chus Mateo might even be an advantage: Greece without Giannis is a much more beatable opponent.
Sportively, the objective doesn't change. Spain faces the second phase as the undefeated leader of its group and with qualification well on track, and these windows serve above all to consolidate the new generation that Mateo has been integrating over the past two years.