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Spain wins, Germany upsets Russia at Eurobasket
Source: Agencies |
September 9, 2009, Wednesday
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PAU Gasol scored 9 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to carry world champion Spain past Britain 84-76 on day two yesterday of the European basketball championship.
After dropping their tournament opener to Serbia a day earlier, the Spaniards started strong against Britain, jumping to a 12-0 lead behind 7 points from Gasol.
But Britain refused to go away, and in the fourth quarter went on a 12-0 run, capped by a Mike Lenzly three from the corner, that gave the British their first lead at 68-66 with 6:32 to play.
Then Gasol took over.
The center scored on a put back, hit a free-throw and then a three pointer to put Spain back in front for good at 74-73, and put the world champion back on track in its quest for a first European title.
"We kept our nerves under control and we also hit some important shots and played some good defense," coach Sergio Scariolo said. "We stay alive and stay in the competition."
Earlier, Germany upset defending champion Russia 76-73 behind 19 points and 11 rebounds from Jan-Hendrik Jagla.
Russia, which only has three players from the team that upset Spain in the 2007 final, fell behind early and trailed by double digits for most of the game, before narrowing the gap to 68-67 on two free throws from forward Nikita Kurbanov with just under two minutes to play.
But Heiko Schaffartzik hit a 3-pointer for Germany, which held on for its first win in Group B. Germany is without NBA star Dirk Nowitzki.
Russia also clearly missed the top two players from its 2007 squad - guard J.R. Holden and Andrei Kirilenko. But the Russians lost yesterday at the line, where they hit just 28 of 49 free throws.
"I don't know what to say about the free throws," said Russia coach David Blatt. "Sometimes it's contagious. If you see one guy miss, others miss as well."
In Group C, a young Serbia looked nothing like the squad that stunned Spain on Monday, falling to a hot-shooting Slovenia 80-69.
Serbia coach Duzan Ivkovic said his team struggled after two early fouls on captain Nenad Krstic.
"We lost the chemistry and the balance under the basket," Ivkovic said. "From that moment, the Slovenian team was absolutely dominant."
Forward Bostjan Nachbar led Slovenia with 17 points and 6 rebounds, while point guard Goran Dragic chipped in with 16 points as Slovenia improved to 2-0.
In other action, traditional power Lithuania continued to struggle, losing to host Poland 86-75. Forward Maciej Lampe led five Polish players in double figures with 22 points and 10 boards, while center Marcin Gortat added 15 points and 17 rebounds.
Turkey also remained undefeated in the group, pounding Bulgaria 94-66.
Also, point guard Tony Parker scored 23 points to lead France past Latvia 60-51 and atop Group B with two wins.
In Group A, Macedonia slipped past Israel 82-79 behind 19 points and six boards from center Pero Antic, and Greece improved to 2-0 with a 76-68 win over Croatia.
Greece, the 2005 European champion, led by 19 with 7:39 to play before Croatia went on a 15-2 run to cut the gap to six with just under two minutes to play.
But Vasileios Spanoulis hit a pair of free throws and a three pointer for Greece at the end to push the game out of reach.
"This is a big win. The (Croatians) are good and have the same kind of targets that we do," Spanoulis said.
After dropping their tournament opener to Serbia a day earlier, the Spaniards started strong against Britain, jumping to a 12-0 lead behind 7 points from Gasol.
But Britain refused to go away, and in the fourth quarter went on a 12-0 run, capped by a Mike Lenzly three from the corner, that gave the British their first lead at 68-66 with 6:32 to play.
Then Gasol took over.
The center scored on a put back, hit a free-throw and then a three pointer to put Spain back in front for good at 74-73, and put the world champion back on track in its quest for a first European title.
"We kept our nerves under control and we also hit some important shots and played some good defense," coach Sergio Scariolo said. "We stay alive and stay in the competition."
Earlier, Germany upset defending champion Russia 76-73 behind 19 points and 11 rebounds from Jan-Hendrik Jagla.
Russia, which only has three players from the team that upset Spain in the 2007 final, fell behind early and trailed by double digits for most of the game, before narrowing the gap to 68-67 on two free throws from forward Nikita Kurbanov with just under two minutes to play.
But Heiko Schaffartzik hit a 3-pointer for Germany, which held on for its first win in Group B. Germany is without NBA star Dirk Nowitzki.
Russia also clearly missed the top two players from its 2007 squad - guard J.R. Holden and Andrei Kirilenko. But the Russians lost yesterday at the line, where they hit just 28 of 49 free throws.
"I don't know what to say about the free throws," said Russia coach David Blatt. "Sometimes it's contagious. If you see one guy miss, others miss as well."
In Group C, a young Serbia looked nothing like the squad that stunned Spain on Monday, falling to a hot-shooting Slovenia 80-69.
Serbia coach Duzan Ivkovic said his team struggled after two early fouls on captain Nenad Krstic.
"We lost the chemistry and the balance under the basket," Ivkovic said. "From that moment, the Slovenian team was absolutely dominant."
Forward Bostjan Nachbar led Slovenia with 17 points and 6 rebounds, while point guard Goran Dragic chipped in with 16 points as Slovenia improved to 2-0.
In other action, traditional power Lithuania continued to struggle, losing to host Poland 86-75. Forward Maciej Lampe led five Polish players in double figures with 22 points and 10 boards, while center Marcin Gortat added 15 points and 17 rebounds.
Turkey also remained undefeated in the group, pounding Bulgaria 94-66.
Also, point guard Tony Parker scored 23 points to lead France past Latvia 60-51 and atop Group B with two wins.
In Group A, Macedonia slipped past Israel 82-79 behind 19 points and six boards from center Pero Antic, and Greece improved to 2-0 with a 76-68 win over Croatia.
Greece, the 2005 European champion, led by 19 with 7:39 to play before Croatia went on a 15-2 run to cut the gap to six with just under two minutes to play.
But Vasileios Spanoulis hit a pair of free throws and a three pointer for Greece at the end to push the game out of reach.
"This is a big win. The (Croatians) are good and have the same kind of targets that we do," Spanoulis said.
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