Batum drew a foul and got three free throws, all of which he missed while Gasol finished the game with a move that opened the doors of history again. He has missed 36 of his last 47 shots going into Sunday’s third-place game against the loser between Serbia and Lithuania.
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When pressed to contrast the efforts of Gasol against one of his own chargers, Benitez came to what seems like a straightforward conclusion.
Orlando Magic wing Evan Fournier played a minor role for France in the loss, shooting 1-of-2 from the floor for three points in six minutes.
From his 24 points against Team US in the gold medal game of the 2012 Summer Olympics, to his 30-point performance against Poland earlier in the tournament with some health concerns, Gasol has been exceptional during EuroBasket without his brother Marc and Oklahoma City Thunder big man Serge Ibaka.
The first Semi-Final of EuroBasket 2015 attracted 26,922 spectators who wanted to witness the modern classic of European basketball between France and Spain at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, a figure which sets a new record for a basketball game played indoors in Europe.
“He’s definitely reached out to players, to everyone on the team personally”, Gasol shared. Regular time wasn’t enough to show off capability of both teams so Spain overcoming France in overtime 80-75. France went over three minutes without scoring to allow the visitors back in the game, though Nicolas Batum’s turnaround three-pointer and Rudy Gobert’s block of Gasol ensured OT. The Chicago Bulls centre is the tournament’s leading scorer and likely to be its Most Valuable Player regardless of the score in the final.
Pau Gasol was putting on a clinic, throwing up a pump fake beyond the 3-point line and then showing that sneaky quickness to get to the rim.
The losing semifinalists also will take part in Olympic qualifying.
Greece placed fifth because of its higher ranking by the sport’s ruling body.
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Meanwhile Latvia and the Czech Republic clash on Friday in the crucial game for seventh place that will determine which of these teams earns the last ticket to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
