Spain thump France 98 – 85; Regain the FIBA EuroBasket crown – Part 2
France had hoped to come out strong after the interval and put a stop to the affluent Spanish offence. They were though outplayed by the Spanish who had too many options and the dangerous Juan Carlos Navarro. The third quarter
seemed to be, on paper, a carbon copy of the second. Both teams scored exactly the same number of points at 21 for France and 25 for Spain, the third straight period in which they scored 25.
France actually reduced the gap to 9 with just 1:31 left on the clock, however the Spaniards went did some serious damage at the end to finish the third period with the score at 75 – 62.
Staring at a 13 point deficit, Tony Parker and Co. came out firing in the final quarter. They put in their best offensive display of the whole game with 23 points. Still, as was the case throughout the game, they failed to stop
the Spaniards from scoring. For every basket that France made, the Spaniards replied with one of their own.
The back and forth left France in exactly the same situation as they were in when the quarter started; facing a 13 point deficit. That’s how the game ended with the score at 98 – 85, Spain victorious in their bid to win the tournament.
The victory means automatic qualification for the Spain side into the London Olympics in 2012 as well as bragging rights for winning the prestigious EuroBasket tournament.
The teams put up deceptively even numbers for rebounds 32-to-32, and assists 17-to-19. However Spain were better from the field making 35 of 63 attempted shots, an above 50 percent success rate. They also broke down France’s defence
time and again, a fact borne out by their 24 free-throw attempts compared to 13 for France.
Tony Parker admitted after the match that he was beaten by a superior side. Parker said Spain were currently the best in Europe and believed they deserved the win.
"They played great and we can learn a lot from that," Parker said. "That's where we want to be as a team. They've been together for more than six years and it makes a huge difference. ... I know what it's like after winning three
titles with the San Antonio Spurs."
"I am extremely proud of back-to-back titles because this was a high-quality championship," Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said, gushing at the tremendous display put in by his team to rout the French.
Pau Gasol was also very pleased after securing the second straight European Championship for his home nation and singled out the brilliant Navarro for special praise.
"Navarro has been incredible, shooting very well and stepping up for us in the clutch," Gasol said.
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