MADRID - Pau and Marc Gasol on Wednesday were jointly named  the 2015 recipients of the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, which constitutes the most prestigious civil distinction in Spain.

"We have decided to grant the 2015 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports to Pau and Marc Gasol, two brothers and extraordinary sportsmen who have combined major sporting achievements with exemplary social work," the Jury mentioned in its deliberation.

The annual prizes, which were known as Prince of Asturias awards up until last year when Prince Felipe was crowned King Felipe VI of Spain, are awarded by the foundation set up by the current Spanish king to persons or organisations who make notable achievements in the fields of sciences, humanities, art and sport.

Previous recipients of the award for sport include Olympic legends Sebastian Coe, Sergei Bubka, Carl Lewis, Hicham El Guerrouj and Yelena Isinbayeva, tennis stars Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Rafael Nadal and Spanish football national team captains Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernandez.

This is the second time that the prestigious prize is awarded to basketball athletes and the Gasol brothers have been its recipients on both occasions.

Pau and Marc were members of the Spanish national team that won the title at the 2006 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Japan and was honoured with the Principe de Asturias award that year.

It is however the first time that two brothers receive or share the award.

Pau and Marc had previously made history in similar fashion in February this year, when they became the first brothers to start in an NBA All-Star Game.

The opening tip of the showpiece encounter in New York was contested by the two Spanish internationals, producing a lasting image which was hailed as a testament to the progress of European players in the NBA.

At the end of the regular season, Marc became the second European player in history, after Dirk Nowitzki, to be voted on the All-NBA First Team.

Meanwhile Pau was included on the Second Team as he led the NBA in double-doubles this season.

Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) President Jose Luis Saez was the person who submitted to the Princesa de Asturias foundation the brothers' joint candidature.

One of the Gasol brothers' main contenders for the prize, European and World swimming champion Mireia Belmonte, was among the first to acknowledge Pau and Marc's merit.

The Gasol brothers were showered with praise by the entire Spanish sports community in the wake of the announcement, with one of the most indicative congratulatory messages coming from their Spain team-mate Sergio Llull.

During their illustrious career with the national team, the two brothers have collected among others one FIBA Basketball World Cup title (2006), two Olympic silver medals (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and two EuroBasket crowns (2009 and 2011).

Pau has also been crowned NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, on two occasions.

FIBA