TORONTO – Spend any amount of time with Marc Gasol and one of the first things you’ll notice about the big Spaniard is his Thumility.
The 35-year-old has a wealth of knowledge on a wide range of subjects – relating to and outside of basketball – and he’s generous enough with his time to share it. Ask him about pick and roll coverage, politics or wine and he’ll gladly fill your notebook.
The one topic that Gasol isn’t especially interested in talking about is: Gasol. Don’t expect the veteran centre to pat himself on the back. After 12 seasons in the NBA, the former Defensive Player of the Year has become quite good at politely swatting away questions that are designed to elicit self-praise.
Ask him about his historic dominance over Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid or Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic and he’ll credit his team’s collective defensive effort. Ask him if he’s thought about his chances of making the Hall of Fame when his illustrious NBA and international careers come to an end and he’ll tell you it hasn’t crossed his mind.
So, when he finally spoke to the media for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to see him quickly shift the conversation away from his recent physical transformation. But, hey, we had to give it a shot.
The legend of ‘Skinny Marc’ started to grow when a photo of the slimmed-down Gasol began to circulate online in June. How did he use the time off to get himself in such great shape?
“It goes with training regimen, goals, sleeping habits, everything,” Gasol told reporters on a Zoom call from the Disney bubble, following the Toronto Raptors’ Wednesday morning practice session. “Obviously, when you’re at home, everything is a lot easier than when you’re on the road and travelling and trying to make everything work and [to] win games.”
Did he lose weight?
“Sure.”
How much?
“Not really sure. I don’t think that’s really relevant. What’s important. like I said, what we’ll all be measured by is winning games and getting another ring. That’s what we’re all here for. We’re all trying to be in the best situation [individually] to do that.”
Fortunately, at least for our purposes, his teammates and coaches have a lot more to say on the subject of Gasol’s conditioning. Like the rest of us, they saw the photo on social media, but know that images can be deceiving, especially in this day and age. They needed to see it for themselves. When the Raptors reconvened in Fort Myers, Fla., for pre-camp workouts late last month and everybody first saw Gasol, they were stunned.
“I had to do a double take, I won’t lie,” said assistant coach Adrian Griffin. “I was so impressed about the way he looks. He just looks phenomenal.”
“I was shocked seeing him,” guard Patrick McCaw added. “It was like, ‘sheesh,’ I couldn’t really recognize him.”
“The change is that drastic,” said guard Norman Powell. “I make fun of him all the time, [he’s] looking like a soccer player from Barcelona. He looks great, man, he’s moving great, he’s feeling great.”
“He looks like prime Marc to me,” guard Terrence Davis said. “So, I don’t know, man. It’s scary.”
Gasol was in Toronto when Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, and the season – followed by most of North American living – was quickly put on hold. After going through an initial round of testing – he didn’t play against Gobert and the Jazz a couple nights earlier, but he was in Utah with the team – and clearing the precautionary quarantine period, Gasol spent the next few months in Spain with his wife and two kids. Knowing he was close to his parents, grandparents and uncles in case of emergency helped give him peace of mind.
The details of his training regimen remain a mystery, but Gasol was clear about his motivation for working himself into tip-top shape.
“It was a frustrating season for me personally because I could never get a rhythm and help the team the way that I should be helping the team,” he said. “As soon as the [the Raptors’] facility closed down, I got together with my team on a phone call and got going on a plan to resolve these ongoing issues.”
Gasol was physically and mentally exhausted when training camp opened last fall. He had played more basketball over the previous year than during any other 12-month span of his life.
After appearing in 53 games with Memphis in 2019-20, he was dealt to Toronto ahead of the February trade deadline – changing teams and moving cities for the first time in his career. He would go on to win his first NBA championship with the Raptors last June (and steal the show at the parade) before joining the Spanish National Team and winning the FIBA World Cup later in the summer. He only took a couple weeks off and then it was back to work.
The fatigue may have affected his play early in the season. He got off to a slow start, particularly on the offensive end of the floor, but was beginning to get his rhythm back when he hurt his left hamstring in a win over Detroit just before Christmas.
The lingering injury cost him 28 games over two separate stints. He made his return in Sacramento – playing 16 minutes and sitting out for rest in Utah the following night – just before the season was suspended, but would have probably been at less than 100 per cent for the duration of the campaign and into the playoffs.
The silver lining and unintended consequence of the hiatus was that it gave banged up and burnt-out players a chance to rest and heal. Few needed it more than Gasol.
It’s going to take most players some time to get back into game shape, and it may take even longer for Gasol on account of his age. Head coach Nick Nurse has been encouraging his players – especially Toronto’s veterans – to “self-monitor” and pull themselves from practice if and when they need a breather. Gasol is one of the guys who have taken him up on that a few times during their first week of practice in the NBA bubble, understanding the importance of easing back after a long layoff.
According to Nurse, Gasol’s hamstring is fully healed. That, in addition to his new physique, should pay dividends for the Raptors when they resume their season in Orlando next month, and then even more come playoff time, given how important Gasol is to their success.
Despite struggling with his shot and then battling injuries, the Raptors have outscored opponents by 10.4 points per 100 possessions with Gasol on the court this season – the best mark among Toronto’s rotation players. Even at less than full speed, he impacts the game with his passing, screen setting, defensive positioning and communication, and high basketball IQ. He’s a hub on both ends of the floor. And now, if he’s a bit quicker on his 35-year-old feet, well, that can’t hurt.
“Maybe the leaner Marc gets to more rebounds, gets him to better defensive positions more quickly,” Nurse said before camp started. “Not that those were a problem [before], but maybe he’s gonna produce more in those [areas now]. Maybe his legs stay in there late in the game for some three-balls. I don’t know. If he can improve, if his conditioning improves him as a player, that’s gonna be a super added bonus for us.”
There’s plenty at stake for Gasol as well. His contract is up after this season and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the fall. He’s at the back end of his career but he’s proven he still has something left in the tank and can help a team win. But, to little surprise, he says he isn’t thinking about his contractual situation. His goal – same as the motivation for transforming his body – is to help lead the Raptors to another championship.
“I think we’re all here for the same goal and that’s to try to win a ring,” he said, expertly steering away from a question about his upcoming free agency. “Anything outside of that is just not relevant at this moment, it can’t help you and it’s not important. Once we all committed to playing, we’re here for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to win.”
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
