To win the silver medal at the European Championships in Madrid in 2007, Spain needed Juan Carlos Navarro and Jorge Garbajosa to average 11.4 and 7.8 points respectively.

To win World Championship gold in Japan in 2006 they needed 14 and 12.7 points from the same pair.

In Madrid in 2007 Spain were the top scoring team and they were second highest scorers in this year's World Championships, but in the current Olympic Games in Beijing they have slipped dramatically to sixth, and they are eighth in field goal percentages, despite an outstanding 70.6% from Pau Gasol.

Navarro and Garbajosa used to lead the Spanish team in long-distance scoring, creating the perfect in-and-out offensive balance. But right now Spain have a dismal record, tied with Angola just above the worst team, Iran.

Despite this, Spain have reached the semi-finals and the fight for medals is on. Any weakness will immediately be spotted by the opposition and turned to their advantage. That is why it is important for Navarro and Garbajosa to step up to the plate.

They are not without confidence, as they have proved many times in the past. They are both world champions and European silver medallists. They have enjoyed short, but successful, NBA careers and they will no doubt continue that with their new European teams this coming season.