By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Following his third season in the NBA and missing out on returning to the Playoffs with the Memphis Grizzlies, Santi Aldama tuned into the Olympic Games. He is projected to help Spain potentially advance through an Olympic Qualifying Tournament and play in Paris during the offseason.
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“I am super excited with the opportunity I have with the national team,” he talked about La Familia in his exit interview after the last game of the 2023-24 Regular Season, “We got to go through a pre-Olympic Tournament. So, we know that is a challenge but we believe we have the team to get to the Olympics and compete there.”
The team coached by Sergio Scariolo will host Angola, Bahamas, Finland, Lebanon, and Poland in Valencia between 2 and 7 of July. The winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament progresses to the Olympic Games and joins Group A in the preliminary round. Drawn in Group A, Australia and Canada await two OQT winners in Paris.
“My summer focus is going to be on that,” Aldama referred to extending his senior international experience after debuting in last summer’s FIBA World Cup. He previously represented Spain at the junior level, earning a gold medal and MVP honors in the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship.
Aldama, 23, was landed by the Grizzlies after being selected by the Utah Jazz with the 30th pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Improving career-highs to 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds highlighted his third year in Memphis.