KEY POINTS:
Desafio Espanol helmsman Karol Jablonski was a little lost for words when asked who he would have chosen to race in the semifinals of the Louis Vuitton Cup if he was Dean Barker.
Emirates Team New Zealand were given the right to select their opponents after they finished the round robins top of the standings.
It came as little surprise they opted for the Spanish rather than Americans Oracle Racing or Italy's Luna Rossa, who meet in the other semi.
"It is always a difficult choice but Dean made the right choice by choosing us," the smiling Polish sailor said.
"It gives us the opportunity to pay them back. It's great for us to race New Zealand. To reach the semifinals we achieved our goal and we are really looking forward to it."
The Spaniards were beaten by Team New Zealand comfortably in both their round robin matches. They finished the round robin competition with 13 wins from 20 races.
With just a four-day break before the semifinal there isn't much time to do a lot.
"We are working on a few specific things to make the boat a bit faster and also on our strategy," Jablonski said.
"But what you haven't done in 2 1/2 years, you're not going to do in the next two days. We have got to get the momentum going and keep doing our job as good as we can."
Desafio Espanol are the fourth Spanish challenge following entries in 1992, 1995 and 1999 Louis Vuitton Cups. The syndicate is headed by Agustin Zulueta, who was involved in past Spanish challenges. With a budget estimated at around $110 million, Desafio Espanol are one of better funded campaigns in Valencia.
They made the smart move of buying the old OneWorld boats from the last cup to kick-start their campaign.
The boats provided them with a good starting base and helped them to come up with ESP88 and ESP97, which have proved to be pretty quick around the Mediterranean race track.
The Spanish crew have improved as the regatta has gone on.
Helmsman Jab-lonski, who has a background in ice boating, has quite a high-risk, flamboyant style but appears to have developed a good relationship with his tactician, New Zealander John Cutler, who is a calming influence.
Alongside the pair in the afterguard is triple Olympic gold medallist Luis Doreste.
Yachting commentator Peter Lester, who helped to coach the Spanish in 1992, said they have a very different approach from Kiwi teams in that they tend to work hard and play even harder.
"They march to a different beat," Lester said. "They express their emotions and have a lot of fun. Once you accept what they are, it's great."
SEMIS SCHEDULE
Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals:
* Start Monday night (NZT) Valencia.
* First to five wins.
* Emirates Team New Zealand v Desafio Espanol.
* BMW Oracle Racing v Luna Rossa.
