21st May, 2012
Spanish shooting guard, Rudy Fernandez, who was part of the squad that won gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and also in 2008, Fernandez had a starring role as the Spaniards reached the Olympic final and lost a thriller to the United States.
He believes that with the experience and dept of their current squad that their target should be nothing less than finishing on the podium at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
In 2009, Fernandez was an all-tournament team selection after helping fire Spain to their first EuroBasket gold medal in Poland and the shooting guard also played an important role last year in Lithuania when Spain successfully defended that European title.
Fernandez who played at the 2004 Athens Games as a 19-year-old said that: “I still have respect for the Olympic Games, but now I go there as a veteran.
“I would love to get a medal for Spain and it would be a dream come true from a personal and a professional standpoint.”
After playing for Real Madrid at the start of the 2011-12 campaign during the NBA Lockout, Fernandez was traded to the Denver Nuggets.
But due to back pain, Fernandez had to stop playing.
In March, he opted to have surgery and brought his season to an early end.
Fernandez is a restricted free agent and has yet to announce if he will remain in the NBA, or return to Europe.