P. Gasol will play for Spain at Euro Championship

ALICANTE, Spain -- Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol will play for Spain in September in the European Basketball Championship.

Gasol said Friday that it was an easy decision after winning the NBA Finals.

"The season went really well for me and now I want to defend our country," Gasol said. "We're really hopeful about the team we have, but we can't go there with a mentality that we'll be playing the final just because we're really good."

World champion Spain, upset by Russia in the European final at Madrid in 2007, is one of the favorites going to Poland after a silver-medal performance in Olympics.