GRANADA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Spain will not play Brazil until Day 3 of Group A action of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but Rudy Fernandez has a plan in mind on how to beat the South Americans.

First, the Real Madrid ace says, Spain's defense will have to stop FC Barcelona point guard Marcelinho Huertas and make Tiago Splitter's life in the paint more difficult.

"Splitter is playing at very high level, in fact, he has just won the NBA ring with his team (San Antonio Spurs)," said Fernandez, who finished scoreless in a 88-82 defeat to Brazil at the 2012 the London Olympics.

Over the past season, the Spain wing faced Huertas on a number of occasions in the ACB Liga Endesa as well the EuroLeague.

So he knows what it takes to square off the Brazilian: "Marcelinho Huertas is a fantastic player, who can also score. I have suffered against him in the games against FC Barcelona this season.

"We will have to stop these two players, who are key for the Brazil game, but we cannot overlook his teammates such as Nene Hilario and Leandro (Barbosa) - who are also playing at high level - or any other player.

"South American teams tend to play more physical game, which makes them tougher opponents," added the 29-year-old.

Spain open their home World Cup campaign at Palacio Municipal de Deportes in Granda on Saturday night against the FIBA Asia Champions champions from Iran, before taking on Egypt on Day 2.

In theory these two teams are the Group A underdogs. Nevertheless, Fernandez says they should not be dismissed without seeing them play.

"We have to respect our opponents. I would lie to you if I said that a game against these teams imply the same level of motivation of playing against the USA.

"But they can surprise other teams, that's why we should play focused in order to defeat them."

Hamed Hadadi, the first Iranian player to play in the NBA, will lead the charge for Iran and Fernandez knows how valuable he is.

"For everything he did, the NBA was a positive for him. Now he is living another experience, and as far as I know he is doing well," he said.

Even the growing number of Egyptian players joining US colleges, in order to pursue their academic and basketball career, caught Fernandez's attention.

"I think it is a good idea for young international players to join a college in order to get education," he said.

FIBA Global Partner bwin is offering fans of Rudy Fernandez the dream of a lifetime, with the chance to meet him in person in Madrid on 9 September at a fan gathering. If you wish to be among the lucky ones, follow bwin's Twitter account (@bwin_es) and write a tweet of encouragement to Spain's team with the hashtag #VamosEspaña before 31 August. Find out more by going to http://bwinblog.es/mb2014/.

FIBA