• Opinion: A new championship
  • 'Team USA'. His victory against Brazil leaves Australia as Spain's great rival until the World Cup final
  • Surprise: The great disappointment of Greece and Antetokounmpo
  • Picture: This is how the quarterfinals match
  • Controversy: World of the nonsense that despairs the selections

The victory against Italy, just the day Ricky Rubio and Marc Gasol can think of having their most gray performance, already gave a clue, and here we expressed the hope that qualifying for the quarter would free Spain from the terrible Serbia, the one that was devouring all its rivals like Swiss buns at breakfast. Well, we fall short, of course. The Spanish defense, which had only grown since the start of the World Cup, removed its last veils and discovered everything Sergio Scariolo - well helped by impressive prey dogs, such as Victor Claver or Rudy Fernandez - had been preparing for months. Alternative defenses, zones with a man or two in front, mixed box and one type defenses, and fulminating speed aids from the weak side.

It was tremendous. Serbia, baffled - except for a Bogdan Bogdanovic who seemed to be playing another game - collapsed and, despite its offensive ups and downs from the start and the last quarter, Spain was always two steps ahead. Leaving the Serbs at 69 points is something like doing it to the Golden State Warriors.

Now that the reward arrives, which on paper is the simplest match of the quarterfinals against Ponitka's Poland, it is time to remember that the symphony is still incomplete because there is still a pending task for this Spain that has been rising from "blood, sweat and tears" to "a nightmare defense": the offensive contribution of a Gasol that does not enter the triples and that in the low post is harassed by players often faster than him. In the rest, including his distribution of the ball, Marc is very good. If a few triples would enter now ...

With a small advance in the polishing of the offensive game, which we are already seeing more settled in Juancho and Willy Hernangómez , Sergio Llull , Pierre Oriola , Pau Ribas and of course Claver and Rubio, we would begin to speculate with higher levels for this team that started the championship waking up and making us expect the worst. With eyes on that possible semifinal United States-Serbia (or Argentina), and remembering that China is good for us. But let's not go from dejection to euphoria.

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  • sports
  • basketball
  • Basketball World Cup 2019
  • Spanish Basketball Team
  • Sergio Scariolo

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