It is a pleasure to play for the national team and feel the support of our fans everywhere we go. We feel their excitement when they see us play. National team games are very different from club games. People take it in a different way; it is not the same to play with Real Madrid on the road as it is with Spain in the very same arena. We had the luck to play most of our pre-tournament games in Spain and we feel people are really backing us. With that kind of support, it is really easy to play.

There's a great atmosphere on this team. We have been playing together and have been quite successful for a long time. We all know that our goal is to win the World Cup, but if we want to do it, we have to work hard on and off the court. We will spend a lot of time together and that's one of the keys — staying together.

One of the traditions we have in this team is what we call the "Enrolment Dinner." Whoever joins the team for the first time buys dinner for the veterans. Each national team has its traditions and this is one we do early in training camp. We had a good time and it always creates a nice atmosphere, integrating the new players, in this case, Dani Diez, Willy Hernangomez, Alex Abrines and Pau Ribas. I had not played with Alex before, but I have known Willy and Dani for a long time. My brother is their age and it is nice for me to see both of them on the team.

There are a lot of good national teams out there, but first and foremost, we have to focus on the group stage. We have to play well in the first three games in Granada, which we play Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There are great teams in this group and we have to be focused on getting the best spot we can before the eighthfinals. I like the competition system; I prefer it to the EuroBasket one. In the end, it is unfair to be first in the group stage and lose right away, but that makes the championship more thrilling. You have to be really focused really soon and I like that. I like a tournament like this; you play five games in the group stage, against very good teams, and then get to the knock-out rounds, in which you know you cannot make mistakes.

The good thing is that we will play all our knock-out games at Barclaycard Arena, the old Palacio de Deportes, where Real Madrid plays its Euroleague home games. It is a great arena and it is my home! People always respond when the national team plays there. We have played several national team games in Madrid throughout the years and it always felt good. We had great moments as a team. Being able to play the World Cup in an arena you consider home is a unique opportunity for me.

Speaking of unique events; I got married this summer! The wedding was great. My wife and I had been together for seven years and we decided to get married. A lot of friends came to the wedding, including Real Madrid and Spain national team players, of course, and we all had a great time. It is always great to get together with the people you love. We went to Dubai and the Maldive Islands on our honeymoon trip. We had a great time and I had time to rest after such a long season.

There are four Real Madrid players on our national team — Rudy Fernandez, Felipe Reyes, Sergio Llull and myself — plus Dani Diez was with us during training camp. Being here, representing Real Madrid and our country, is an important achievement for us. It means we are doing things right and, obviously, the more players you have from the same team, the more comfortable you feel, too.

Like I said, the three opening games are critical for us. We can't wait for the World Cup to start and feel the atmosphere. We already played a game in Granada and our fans really helped us a lot. We want to start the tournament well, see our fans in the stands and give our best to have a great championship!