A great page of Spanish sports has been written.
A few days ago, the Gasol brothers announced their decision to complete their journey with the national team.
After so many years giving us joy, showing us the passion they have for their sport, after reaching the top in basketball, they have put an end to an admirable career representing our country.
With their impeccable careers they have earned the right to decide when, how and where.
We can only applaud them and be grateful.
As a basketball fan I will miss them very much.
Not only for its quality, but for its human height to represent us around the world.
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The values they transmit when competing, that affection and that mutual respect they demonstrate are worthy of admiration.
The tenderness they give off as brothers is the best legacy they could have left us.
As athletes, having pushed each other to improve, they are an example for everyone to follow.
The figure of Pau, the older of the two, the benchmark to look at, has been a mirror for Marc. A guide to break down barriers that we thought were beyond our reach.
In sport, figures are needed to show that a goal is possible.
It has also been for any athlete at an international level and it is fortunate to have had his reference.
Pau represents the greatest values of sport: respect, humility or sacrifice.
Get up after falling over and over again, no matter the circumstances.
In short, never give up.
Their behavior when competing has always been exemplary, putting collective success before personal.
The camaraderie, wanting to help even higher level teammates, knowing that off the court he is a leader for everyone.
He has been able to be present when his team needed him.
He is a legend of our sport and has achieved something reserved for the chosen ones: when you get the love and respect of your rivals, the appreciation of your own teammates, you have achieved the most important thing.
It is more than just a success, many times more important than any title.
Marc has achieved something very complicated.
Early in his career he was under the wing of his older brother.
He had to find his own dreams with the enormous weight of the last name, with pressure-filled comparisons.
But he managed to make his own way, with a huge effort to achieve everything at the sporting level.
Both in the NBA and in the national team he has managed to be a good leader of his generation.
He stopped being the brother of Pau Gasol, a real responsibility, to be Marc Gasol.
That initial jump of the All Star will never be erased from my retina. Both looking for the ball in a historical image for the sport.
It is one of the most special sporting moments in recent years, a beautiful moment that illustrates the great adventure of two brothers.
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All texts by CARLA SUÁREZ
We fired two referents and authentic leaders.
Two winners leave us, two examples of people both in sport and in life.
Seeing the national team without the Gasol surname on any of their jerseys will be something different in the coming years.
They have accustomed us to victory, and that is a mental barrier that we owe to them, to a great extent.
Words to both can only be thanked.
They have made us enjoy and have transmitted an infinity of emotions throughout these years.
We have grown and learned with them.
They have shown us that, with work and determination, dreams can stop being dreams.
We have pushed the limits in one of the most competitive sports of all.
It remains to enjoy the last years of Marc, consecrated as a great recent figure in the NBA.
We have the great memory of Pau, with his enormous performances already reflected in the history books of modern basketball.
Thank you both for the great example.
For having left his skin in every game and staying in the elite of the sport for so long.
They have bathed our country with epic days and countless successes.
Thank you for having represented Spain with such professional stature and such passion.
They will always wear the gold medal around their necks.
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