Without the Gasols there are also medals. The Spanish team once again defied the odds, beating Germany (91-96) and will play against France in the Eurobasket final on Sunday. Paralyzed by the pressure of playing at home, the home side struggled against an opponent who played more intelligently in the decisive minutes. Lorenzo Brown, who scored 29 points, became the hero of a team better coached than its opponents.
Alberto Díaz’s defense on Dennis Schröder, who could only score 2 of his 30 points in the final quarter, was key and became the perfect metaphor for a Spanish team with little experience but a lot of ambition and a great spirit of sacrifice.
The Spanish team started with a lot of concentration. Sergio Scariolo’s team took advantage of the offensive production of Xabi López-Arostegui, a Basque trained in Badalona, to strike fear into the hearts of the German fans with a good first quarter. Lorenzo Brown responded with good actions to Dennis Schröder’s lead (24-27). Income grew to nine points, but it was then that Germany woke up. As they did against Greece, the host team turned the score around with a few minutes of madness in which they went on a 14-0 run. The locals were able to score 51 points during the first 20 minutes (51-46).
Scariolo turned to Alberto Díaz to accentuate the defense of the Spanish team and change the rhythm of a semi-final at a great collective level (57-61). The worse the scenario was, the better reaction Germany offered, which used a 14-0 second half to achieve its biggest difference (71-61). The Italian coach once again hit the right keys with a team that displayed more experience than anyone imagined to reach the decisive stage with more confidence. Without making any mistakes, the Spanish team reached the last minute with an 8-point lead (80-88).
France, with energy
The other finalist will be France, who went over Poland (54-95). The French rival accused wear and tear in the tie against Slovenia and was not able to maintain his level of success in the outside shot. Without pace, his scoring lacked continuity. Guershon Yabusele (22 points) was the top scorer in a semifinal in which Vincent Collet had the luxury of resting some of his most loaded players.
