NBA star Gasol, who left the Los Angeles Lakers for the Chicago Bulls in July, top scored with 33 points as the host nation cruised to a 90-60 success in Granada on Saturday.
But, despite the comfortable nature of Spain's victory, the versatile power forward feels Juan Orenga's men still have a long way to go if they are to repeat their title-winning heroics of 2006.
"I like to get better and I think we're going to get better as we move along. So it was a good first game, a good win, a good way to start off the championship and now we've got to think about Egypt tomorrow [Sunday]," Gasol said.
"There's a better rhythm, a better shape as we go along. It's just the first game, so we did what we were supposed to do, to win the game. And now tomorrow we're going to try to play better and continue to win."
On a personal note, Gasol is feeling fresh after his exertions in the NBA and is relishing the opportunity to guide his country to glory.
He added: "I had a good break after my last season [with the Lakers], I was pretty much done with playing in March [when the Lakers were eliminated before the playoffs] which meant I was able to recover, refresh and then work to prepare myself for the [World] Championship, which is a big opportunity for us to do something special.
"So I've just being working hard to be in good shape and be ready to play."