Class victory: Spain defeats Argentina and wins Basketball World Cup

Second consecutive bronze of France

It seemed that an incredibly bright victory over the Americans in the quarter finals of the world championship opened the way for Vincent Collet’s squad, if not historical gold, then at least to the finals of the Chinese tournament. However, the best result in the history of the French team did not work out: the tricolors became the next “victim” of Argentina, unable to cope with the genius Facundo Campazzo and the incredible efficiency of Luis Skola.

In the consolation finale, they had a meeting with Australia, which on paper looked more motivated if only because it had never won medals in global tournaments before - the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

In the first half of the match for third place, a strong impression was created that only one team needed it. Rudy Gober was again neutralized, and the French attack stalled - in two starting quarters Nando de Colo and the company scored only 21 points, and in the course of the third ten-minute time they did “-15”.

But in the end, there were people in Kolle’s clip who were not indifferent to the fate of the bronze awards: the experienced forward Nicolas Batum led the partners, and Zenit defender Andrew Albisi, almost imperceptible at the distance of the tournament, had an amazing end to the meeting, becoming one of its main characters .

Earlier, the 29-year-old basketball player had never even played at the Euroleague level, but during the final six minutes of the main time he got three of the most important three-point shots and helped France roll to the finish line with an advantage in two possessions. It turned out to be more than solid considering that the starry Australians Patrick Mills, Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Ingles still showed signs of fatigue in the semifinals.

Of course, they did not get fresher for the fight for bronze: annoying misses and stupid losses out of the blue led to the failure of Andrei Lemanis's age team in the fourth quarter. As a result, “-12” in the final ten minutes and the next fourth place in the tournament. Previously, Australians stopped four times a step away from a place on a pedestal.

In turn, the French for the second time in a row completed the world championship in third place. Of course, the offenders of the US team wanted more. But it’s worth the fact that tricolors remained in the elite of world sports - and this is without Tony Parkere and Boris Diao who completed their international careers, as well as with an impressive list of young talents who did not meet the expectations.

Rout in the finals

Most often, the sensational participants in the finals of a major tournament will face a deafening fiasco in a decisive battle. By the fight for the championship title, such “Cinderellas” are finally appreciated, their strengths are analyzed, and they have nothing to surprise opponents with. The Argentinean basketball team was no exception - the wards of Sergio Hernandez did not have a single chance to take gold in Beijing, where Spain played as it should be a real grand.

In the starting 30 minutes of the final, the “Red Fury” exemplarily acted in positional defense, not allowing the Argentines to find free throws. Louis Skolu was knitted hand and foot either by Marc Gasol, or by the Guillermo and Juancho Hernangomes brothers. In addition, Latino categorically did not fly long-range shots - at its level, only Facundo Campazzo held a decisive meeting. But the quick breaks he organized, spectacular feints and cunning programs were enough only to “blow up” the stands several times.

At the same time, the European squad brilliantly acted under its own ring, not allowing either Campazzo, Skole, or Nicholas Laprovittola to gain easy points. More than two attempts from near and medium range in the target was sent only by Gabriel Dec, who became with 24 points the most productive player in the final.

In Spain, everything was harmonious, thought out to the smallest detail and even academically. This applies not only to the defense, but also to the attacks conducted by Rubio and Gasol. The 34-year-old center assisted partners seven times and, if necessary, “made a difference”.

The Spaniards literally surpassed their rival in everything: in size, in selection (47:27), and immediately six players chalked up at least 11 points. In this situation, the Argentines clearly had nothing to catch. Especially taking into account the fact that Skola and Campazzo missed 18 shots from a 21-game. In the middle of the third quarter the advantage of Scariolo's team was measured by 22 points, and the name of the new world champion became known long before the final siren.

The Hernandez guys, of course, did not give up and made a powerful attempt to revive the intrigue in the final segment, but no one, except Deck, began to score steadily. Timely timeouts of the mentor helped the “red fury” to calm the game, and a couple of minutes before the final siren, the Latin Americans finally capitulated.

The triumph in the Middle Kingdom was the second in the history of the Spanish national team: as in 2006 in Japan, Scariolo wards did not suffer a single defeat at the distance of the championship of the planet. Gasol and Fernandez, who went to the tournament 13 years ago in the status of the new hopes of the Iberian basketball, became two-time world champions.

The organizers handed the title of the most valuable player not to Mark, who seemed to deserve him a little more than everyone else, but Rubio. The playmaker kept the brand in all play-off matches and spent his best in the finals. He turned out to be an important factor not only in the game, but also at the final stage of the attacks, bringing his team 20 points. Gasol was awarded a place in the symbolic team, which also included the Argentinean Luis Skola, Serb Bogdan Bogdanovich, the best scorer of the French team Evan Fournier and Rubio.

Next year, the Spanish national team will return to Asia for the sake of conquering the only peak so far unattainable for itself. They are guaranteed to come to Tokyo and Argentina with France, as well as the teams of Australia, USA, Iran and Nigeria, who qualified for the 2020 Games directly according to the results of the World Cup.

The Russian basketball players, who finished in the final 12th place, are expected to participate in an additional Olympic selection this summer, where the last four vacant tickets to the main tournament of the four-year cycle will be played.