Marc and Pau Gasol's one-on-one games are too intense for Ricky Rubio, Serge Ibaka
Marc and Pau Gasol are two of the NBA's most competitive players. As calm-natured as they both appear to be off the court, don't get between them and winning when they're on it. Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio and Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka learned that the hard way.
The Gasol brothers play on the Spanish National Team along with Rubio and Ibaka, who have witnessed some intense behavior from the two bros. Apparently, the Gasols play particularly fierce one-one-one games. We're not talking games that happen to be tied at 10 as they play to 11. We're talking about competitive fire, such which was too feisty for Ibaka, as told by Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney in this fantastic feature on the brothers:
Thunder big man Serge Ibaka, who joined the Spanish national team in 2011, tried to jump into the Gasols’ post-practice melee. He lasted two days before bowing out.
Rubio couldn't quite comprehend the games, either. From Mahoney:
The boil of the matchup is so intense that Wolves guard Ricky Rubio, after his first practice with the national team, sincerely thought Pau and Marc would come to blows and dispense with the game altogether. Then, just as it appeared the Gasols’ tempers might flare further, they hit game point. Within minutes they were hugging, laughing, and off to dinner. Rubio called his own brother in disbelief. As competitive as their own one-on-one games had been, they were nothing like this.
“I’ve never seen two dudes fight that much and then, after all of that, hug each other and be brothers,” Rubio said.
Those are the Gasols, though: Fiery on the court, amicable off it. Apparently, that dichotomy is even more exaggerated once you get to know them.
