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BEIJING – After a clutch Friday performance, Marc Gasol has a chance to pull off the rare double of winning NBA championship and a FIBA World Cup title in the same summer.
Gasol scored 33 points and made crucial oven free throws in Spain's 95-88 double-overtime victory over Australia in the semifinals. Gasol earned a ring with the Toronto Raptors in June; he would add a FIBA gold medal with a victory Sunday over Argentina or France.
That last player to earn NBA and FIBA titles in the same summer was Lamar Odom in 2010, when he won with the Los Angeles Lakers and was part of Team USA's victory in the World Championships in Turkey.
"I do not want to lose a second to think what it would mean," Gasol said. "You look at the big picture, I'm very fortunate.
Gasol only took a break from the Raptors' title before starting preparations with Team Spain. While many of his NBA peers elected to skip the World Cup, Gasol said he felt a commitment to set an example to younger Spanish players.
"It's so worth it and not just because we're playing in the title game," Gasol said. "It's not a talent, it's just commitment."
Gasol was a 21-year-old role player in 2006 when Spain won its last world title. Now they are a team leader who has made the Spanish to the brink of redemption after they were upset and did not medal in the 2014 World Cup in their home country.
"When you come to national team for 8-10 weeks in the summer, it's not very practical," Gasol said. "You are not getting to work on your game, you do not get to recover, you are committing a lot of time to your face. Teammates and it's completely worth it. "
Several times during the intense victory over the Aussies, whom the Spanish beat for the bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics, Gasol had exchanges with Kobe Bryant, who was sitting courtside.
"I put Marc when Marc was really young," Bryant said. "So [to] see how far he's come as a basketball player, as a man and now as an NBA champion, I'm very happy and proud. "
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