The Spanish basketball team was trying to keep its feet on the ground after its preparations for to defend its World Basketball crown got off to the best possible start on Sunday.

Playing in Las Palmas, the Spanish crushed Canada 84-39 in their first preparation match for the World Championships, which begin in Turkey at the end of the month.

Although coach Sergio Scariolo rotated his squad to give all of his players time on court, he will have been delighted with the performances of power forward Felipe Reyes (14 points) and shooting guard Rudy Fernandez (12 points).

Speaking in sports paper El Mundo Deportivo, Scariolo said that his players had used the game to get up to physical speed rather than to work on tactics.

"It was a game in which physical efforts received more rewards than tactics," he admitted, before praising debutant Carlos Suarez.

"The debutant gave a good impression on the pitch, they respected the situation and worked hard to provide balance," he said.

Meanwhile point guard Ricky Rubio insisted that it had been the first warm up game and that there was still a long way to go before the Spanish could talk about retaining their World title.

"We still have to improve in many things, but we did play well and we also played with the intensity that we are looking for," said Rubio, who plays his club basketball for Barcelona.

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