By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – Canada got the bronze medal in the FIBA World Cup having on the bench a Spaniard who credited an Israeli-American for this achievement.
It’s a small basketball world after all and Jordi Fernandez proved it beyond any doubt.
The head coach of Canada who is also the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings is a unique blend: “I was born and raised in Badalona, Spain, it’s one of the best basketball cities in the world. I lived there until I was 26 years old and I worked with Sergio Scariolo. I have my own path of learning in the NBA and FIBA. I think that was one of the reasons they trusted and the only thing I can say, is thank you for trusting me”.
Sergio Scariolo, the longtime Italian head coach of the Spanish national team, was one of Fernandez’s mentors, but there’s also a special relationship with David Blatt.
The legendary Israeli-American coach who is battling with PPMS, is currently a consultant on the Canadian national team, but his relationship with Fernandez goes way back: “I worked with coach Blatt in Cleveland, he and I have a great connection. I was coaching the G-League, he was my boss, but I watched him coaching in Europe for many years. He is one of the best to ever do it. You know what happened to him. I have a lot of respect for how he deals with it and what he has done for me. There are no bad days for him. It means the world to me. Thanks for being there for me, like my angel during games, and practices”.
Fernandez also thanked his wife Kelsey for supporting him and also talked about his team, his players, and Dillon Brooks: “When they let him, he is the best defender in the world with Lu Dort and offensively has been really efficient. I don’t think it gets better than that. Shai Giglious-Alecander for me is the MVP”.
Fernandez joked about the play that sent the game to overtime, admitting also that’s good to learn while winning and having a bright future: “What those guys did, obviously was not perfect. We have to learn to box out in free throws, but it’s good to learn while winning. This is the start of something long-term. We don’t have a lot of experience in FIBA, but we are showing we can do great things in FIBA”.
And of course, Fernandez loves his players and wants to see them all in the Paris Olympics again: “I learned they are great people and I want them to be on my team from now on during my whole career. The medal means a lot to the guys, the program, the board, the country. In an accomplishment like this, you don’t know what it is like until you do it. They just don’t know in the NBA what you went through, they will never know. All these relationships are going to stay there forever. My love goes back to them. We have a great program and we will decide about the Olympic roster when this time comes. But they made this happen, those guys have the number one ticket. We will hold on to those guys”.