There were some levels of noticeable disinterest which were concerning, especially during the times Gasol and Sergio Rodriguez sat, effectively leaving him as the first option.
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Spain had a 3-2 win-loss record in the preliminary stages but has performed well in the knockout rounds beating Poland (80-66) in the round of 16, Greece (73-71) in the quarterfinals and France in the semis.
With a place in the final guaranteed, Spain also became the first European team to qualify for next year’s Rio Olympic Games.
Spain gets a heroic effort from Pau Gasol, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, to force overtime. For his impressive performances all-tournament long, the Chicago Bulls center was named as EuroBasket 2015 Most Valuable Player.
Spain were not considered favorites this year after several key players like Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Juan Carlos Navarro, Jose Calderon and Serge Ibaka did not suit up for the team. Had Pau been playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid, there’s no denying he’d put up numbers of epic proportions, as his game is simply more suited to the european style. Gasol, along with fellow Bulls teammate Nikola Mirotic, have been the primary offensive options for Spain throughout the tournament. Earlier, hosts France beat Serbia 81-68 in the bronze medal game. Over the EuroBasket tournament, Nando De Colo was arguably France’s most consistent and best player in terms of production, as he once again led Les Bleus with 20 points versus Serbia. “We want to show that we did not get here by accident”.
“We came here to win the gold and now we have the opportunity to do it”, Gasol said.
NBA Basketball is right around the corner.
Spain had lost twice in group play, while France was undefeated in seven games coming into the semifinal.
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Bucks fans and coaches will hope that his credible three-point shooting-he hit 10 for 26 on the tournament for 38.5%-is evidence of real progress with his shot, and not just a product of a small sample size or the global game’s shorter three-point line.
