As Eurobasket 2005 draws nearer by the day, the idea continues to spread all over the continent that Spain are a one-man team.

And worrying for Spain is that that one man - Memphis Grizzlies power forward Pau Gasol - may not play so as to avoid risking further injury to his foot, especially as he has recently signed a lucrative contract extension with the NBA club.

		If Gasol is absent for Eurobasket, players like Juan-Carlos Navarro will have to carry the load

If he opts out of the tournament, the widely held view is that Spain will go from a championship-calibre team to a side that just makes up the numbers in Serbia & Montenegro.

One of the leading basketball figures in Spain, Manolo Flores, who coaches national team players Juan Carlos Navarro, Rodrigo de la Fuente and Roberto Duenas, as well as rising star Marc Gasol (Pau's younger brother) at Barcelona, appears to share that view.

"Spain has a good level of players but people like Pau Gasol will make the difference if they are able to come," Flores said to PA International.

"Spain has a good proportion of quality players but obviously compared to the bigger countries, there is less of a supply chain."

In other words, countries like France and Lithuania can recover from the absences of key players.

But not Spain.

The only way to tell, however, will be the competition.

There is at least one example that Spain, if Gasol does not make himself available, can call upon for inspiration.

Italy lacked star power the past two years but still took bronze at Eurobasket 2003 and silver at the Olympics.

Azzurri greats Gregor Fucka and Carlton Myers retired from the international game, but Italy survived.

The Italians may have gotten even better.

Coach Carlo Recalcati got his players to buy into a philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Why should Spain believe?

		Sergio Rodriguez represents Spain's up-and-coming generation

Point guard Jose Manuel Calderon showed in two games last week for Tau Ceramica against Benetton Treviso in the Euroleague quarter-finals that the sky is the limit for his game.

He is quick and very strong. Treviso, the best team in Italy, couldn't stop him as he continually blew past defenders to score lay-ups in half-court sets.

Then there is power forward/centre Jorge Garbajosa, one of Benetton's key players the last three seasons before opting to return home to Spain to play for Unicaja.

Garbajosa is equal parts power and finesse. Even when Gasol was on the court at times last summer, Garbajosa looked like the team's best player.

Most important for Spain is that if Gasol does not play, they must have the right spirit.

Italy had a team unity that was second to none in Athens. An atmosphere of togetherness and selflessness is what coach Mario Pesquera will have to create.

The worst-case scenario is that a Gasol-less Spain will not win a medal.

If that happens, the basketball people in Spain will be able to console themselves with the bright future.

Fran Vazquez, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodrigues are emerging stars, although none are assured of their places in the Eurobasket 2005 team.

"We have a high percentage of good players and it looks positive for the future," Flores said.