|
Monday, 04 September 2006 |
No Pau Gasol but Spain beat Greece to win the World Basketball Championship
Despite the loss of injured star Pau Gasol,, Spain managed to thrash Greece 70-47 and to win the World Basketball Championship title for the first time.
It was Spain's first medal in a global event since the 1984 Olympics, and they went through the tournament undefeated as the winners of all nine matches.
Greece couldn't match the Spanish performance and had shocked America in the semis.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Jorge Garbajosa blew the game open for Spain and gave them a 14-point advantage with 8:15 to go in the second quarter.
Spain entered at half-time leading 43-23, and the gap was still 20 points after the third quarter.
Greece never managed a late comeback and Spain easily completed their 18th straight win following a string of triumphs before the tournament.
Pau Gasol, who led Spain in points and rebounding, had broken a metatarsal in Friday's epic 75-74 semi-final win over Argentina but he hobbled on to the court on crutches for the final and watched the game from the bench, enthusiastically shouting encouragement to his side.
Comment on this article
Leave your comments (Show/Hide Form)
Other Visitors Comments
There are no comments currently....
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 September 2006 )
|
Basketball 
