INQUIRER Sports

MADRID -- The Memphis Grizzlies, Pau Gasol's first NBA club in the United States, have signed up the Spaniard's younger brother Marc on a three-year contract.

"I'm very happy because I'll be going to play in the world's best championship," Marc Gasol said after the Spanish team’s training in south Spain.

"They wanted to create a young team and it could be that I have a lot of game time" with the Grizzlies, he said.

Gasol, 23, who has played at Girona since 2006, has led in rebounds (8.3 per game) and was fourth highest scorer (16.2 points) in the Spanish championship last season. He was also named the league's most valuable player.

Pau Gasol, who will be 28 later this month, was signed by the Grizzlies in 2001 from Barcelona. After six-and-a-half years with the club, he joined Los Angeles Lakers in February and appeared in last month's NBA finals.

The Spanish national team, world champions in 2006 and European vice-champions in 2007, got their training for the Beijing Games under way on Wednesday.