in the pivot

バスケットボール選手のパウ・ガソル選手を取り上げた記事から英語表現を拾います。ガソル選手はロンドン五輪の開会式でも旗手を務めるなど、ＮＢＡではもちろん、スペインでも国民的スター選手です。今大会も米代表が豪華メンバーを揃えていますが、スペインにも頑張って欲しいところです。

Gasol leads by example for club and country

Kobe Bryant is one of the five most famous athletes on the planet.

His Los Angeles Lakers teammate Pau Gasol, a supremely talented and intelligent big man is instantly recognized almost everywhere he goes, too. This will only increase in time.

Gasol, Spain's flag bearer, for the Opening Ceremony, is more than the hard-working older brother of standout center Marc. The elder Gasol combines humility and confidence as he leads.

Winning championships with Bryant and playing under Phil Jackson in past years gave Gasol as demanding a foray into what it takes to win at the elite level as one can get.

But don't forget Spain has excelled in recent years (see: 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan), and Gasol's steady play in the pivot — doing things that show up in the boxscore and doing the things that coaches point out to their charges (the proper pass that leads to the assist, boxing out, proper positioning to set a screen) — has not gone unnoticed to true hoop enthusiasts.

Embracing the moment was the message Gasol gave during Thursday's crowded news conference.

Looking ahead to the Spain-China match on Sunday, Gasol said, "It's the first game of the championship. We want to play well. We are going to have to play hard to start the tournament the way we want to."

The absence of retired NBA star Yao Ming changes the makeup of the China lineup, but Gasol said Spain cannot overlook its opponent's ability to pull off an upset.

To return to the grind of basketball after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, Gasol admitted "I've been preparing myself and working to get better . . . (to perform) at a high level and then for Los Angeles."

"The goal is to get back on top as a team," said Gasol, who has been the subject of countless trade rumors in the past few years.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/sp20120729eo.html

pivotはバスケットボールをやった事がある人ならすぐ思い浮かぶと思います。バスケ用語で「トラベリングをしないように、軸足をフロアに固定して足を動かすこと」ですね。
『ジーニアス英和辞典』(第4版、大修館書店)によると、第1義は「ピボット、枢軸、旋回軸」と載っていました。しかし、今回はこの第1義の意味ではなく、第2義の「(theを伴って)[議論などの]中心、かなめ、中心となる人物」という意味(『ジーニアス英和辞典』、第4版、大修館書店)で用いられています。
ですので赤文字の部分は「チームの中心人物(エース)としてプレイしている」と解釈することができます。バスケらしい面白い表現ですね。なお，形容詞のpivotalはすでに取り上げられています。
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20120311/1331454721　　　　　(EnDough)