(REUTERS) – A weakened United States will still be one of the favourites to win the basketball world championships but holders Spain are determined to thwart them, according to teenage Spanish guard Ricky Rubio.
None of the players from the team that beat the Spanish to win the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be in the U.S. squad for the tournament starting this month in Turkey. Notable absentees include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski instead has a young squad likely to be led by the NBA’s leading scorer last season, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma Thunder.
In an interview at the Spanish team hotel in Madrid, the 19-year-old Rubio noted that Spain will also be without one of their best players, Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who pulled out on doctors’ advice.
“The U.S. are missing players like we with Pau but the important thing is the 12 players who will be at the worlds,” Rubio told Reuters.
“There is no point in thinking about who is missing. The U.S. have enough quality to proclaim themselves champions and we will stop them.”
Asked about potential favourites, he added: “Obviously the U.S. will be at an incredible level.
“Then you have Turkey who are preparing very well to play at home. Argentina, Brazil, you could name various teams.”

FANTASTIC TEST
Spain play the U.S. in a friendly in Madrid on August 22 and the precocious Rubio, who has been compared to former NBA player Pete Maravich in both looks and playing style, said it would be a “trial by fire” for the world champions.
“We will have a fantastic test and we’ll be able to see what level we are at and if we have what it takes to compete for a medal (in Turkey),” he told Reuters.
He said it was not about avenging the defeat in Beijing.
“That’s in the past and we have to forget it but at the same time learn from the mistakes we made and try to improve,” he said, adding that Spain’s preparations to defend their title were going well.
“It was obvious from the beginning of our training camp that there was a lot of desire to play the worlds.
“There has been aggression in the training sessions, the level of concentration is very high and that’s positive for the group.”
Rubio was selected fifth in the overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Draft in June 2009 but elected to stay in Spain, moving from DKV Joventut to FC Barcelona.
He became the youngest player to play in Spain’s ACB league when he debuted at the age of 14 and has won the European Young Player-of-the-Year award the past three years.
Asked how he viewed his role in the Spanish team, he agreed it was something like that of playmaker Xavi in the World Cup-winning national soccer side.
“The guard is the one who organises, the one who has to play the ball,” he said. “You have to be the extension of the coach on the court.”