FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajosa revealed his bond with Ricky Rubio and was extremely pleasant with his return to the court.
The upcoming EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers will be special for FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajosa for at least two reasons.
Spain
Latvia
BelgiumFirst, it will be his first EuroBasket qualifiers window. Secondly, and more importantly, he will witness his great friend's return to the court.
Ricky Rubio will make his first appearance on the court since April with the national team after taking a break from basketball to deal with his mental health. Garbajosa shared how and why this moment will be emotional for him.
"There are many connections between Ricky and myself," Garbajosa said in a meeting with European basketball media. "It was very difficult when it happened last summer, and it was extremely beautiful when I received a call [that he will return] because we have known each other since the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. We became extremely good friends."
"I remember the day last July when Sergio Scariolo called me and said, 'We have a problem with Ricky.' I drove my car as fast I can to, to get to the hotel. I was talking to him and, believe me, not from a known professional point of view, but from a personal point of view, when you talk to him, you feel what he's feeling.
You are destroyed because he was talking very openly. He was in a very, very difficult situation.
At that moment, I put all the resources of the national team and National Federation at his disposal. I also put myself at his disposal because, let's say, I went through a little bit of a similar situation to his.
I am very close to him. He was very close to me, and I was extremely happy when I received the call a day before he announced [his return to basketball]. We cried together. We have an unforgettable moment together.
When he told me, 'Jorge, my idea is to try to come back to Barcelona as a club and to try to play my first game with the national team. You cannot imagine, it was perfect. It was perfect because for him to feel way better than he did, thinking of coming back to the national team.
He feels like the family is true, that it is a true concept. Obviously, as a president of FIBA Europe, I said in the beginning that these windows are very special because finally, we can have the [best] players, and so on.
Can you imagine how important it is for me that Ricky is back and he's back in the national team game? It's a window game, playing for EuroBasket qualification. It's perfect. I cannot be more happy, and I cannot be more proud of Ricky," Garbajosa shared his emotions.
Spain will open its EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers on Thursday when it will host Latvia in Zaragoza.
Meanwhile, the last time Rubio played for Spain was back in 2021, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Back then, he averaged 25.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 21.5 EFF in 4 appearances.
