Ricky Rubios Exhibition in the Cadet Final
The Setting:
Linares, Spain. August the 20th. U-16 European Championship Final featuring Spain vs. Russia. Spain had beaten Croatia the previous day in the semifinal behind a quadruple-double by Rubio. He was already the tournament leader in assists and steals, and needed 31 points and 23 rebounds the lead these two categories as well.
The Hero:
Ricky Rubio delivered one of the most incredible performances ever witnessed in youth categories, truly a game for the ages. Actually, its quite safe to assert that nobody has even come close in at least the last fifteen years. In a double-overtime thriller, Rubio led Spain to victory with 51 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and 7 steals. He was just unstoppable, getting into the lane at will, creating for his teammates, fighting for rebounds, coming away with any loose ball, playing defense (although not nearly as consistently as he does it now); he was everywhere on the court. That day, Ricky looked like he was blessed by the basketball gods. It was precisely the perimeter shooting, head and shoulders his most notorious weaknesses, that provided the greatest game highlight. At the end of the regulation, Spain inbounded the ball with less than 2 seconds to go and 3 points down in the score. Rubio sank an impossible shot from half court to send the game to the first overtime.
His talent and statistical voraciousness upped Rubio to the tournament leadership in four main categories: points, rebounds, assists and steals. Nobody remembers such a dominant performance.
Other Highlights:
In case anybody thought that Rubios amazement ability was exhausted for a long time with this tournament, he was flat-out wrong. With coach Aíto García-Reneses willing to give him chances on court with DKV Joventut, Rubio not only has proven he belongs among top international competition, he has become a very important piece in his team at the age of 16. Actually, 2006 has finished with Rubio leading the Euroleague in steals per game and assists per minute.