Paris Olympics: Pau Gasol surprises Spain’s 3×3 women’s basketball team

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PARIS — Midway through a matchup with France on Wednesday night, Spain’s Juana Camilion glanced over at the courtside seats to her left and noticed a familiar face.

Pau Gasol had come to support Spain’s 3×3 women’s basketball team in its second game of group play at the Paris Olympics.

“I got distracted for a few seconds,” Camilion told Yahoo Sports with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Ooooh Pau is there?’ Then I was like, ‘OK, focus! Focus on the game.’”

Spain didn’t play like a team that was distracted, nor did the Spaniards appear bothered by the flag-waving pro-French crowd. They improved to 2-0 in group play with a convincing 17-12 victory over the host country.

Shortly after the game was over, all four Spanish players climbed into the stands to celebrate with Gasol. He embraced each of them warmly, posed for pictures and chatted about some of the differences between traditional basketball and the fast-paced, ultra-physical 3×3 discipline.

“He was surprised by all the contact he’d seen on the court, but he was happy for us,” Camilion said. “It was a huge game for us.”

Gasol, like his late close friend and former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, has long been an investor in women’s basketball and a vocal advocate for increasing opportunities for women in coaching and athletic leadership. The WNBA last year named him recipient of the Kobe & Gigi Bryant Advocacy Award for his significant contributions to the women’s game.

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Spain’s Sandra Ygueravide told Yahoo Sports that she and her teammates had no idea that Gasol was planning to come Wednesday night.

“We had never seen him in person at a 3×3 court,” she said, “so it was a special day.”

Camilion had only one request for Gasol before they parted ways.

“I told him tomorrow he has to come again,” she said with a smile. “He was good for us.”

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