Doncic Belgium demands another display of genius
Spain is where hardly anyone expected it, heroic among the eight best in Europe, breaking forecasts and hearts.
In a night to remember, to the annals of agony, she rebelled against her own destiny and went back to Lithuania with all her heart, to show that her legend went beyond her talent: it was the her own love.
[102-94: Narration and statistics]
This new Spain does not wrinkle.
Look at the metals that support its recent past and instead of a backpack they are the seed of ambition, as if that could not be sullied.
The oft-ruined Lithuania was left speechless again, stunned by the devils who stole from them a match they seemed to dominate.
She felt like a winner, forced extra time by a spark of fortune, a tap on the horn and finally surrendered to
Lorenzo Brown
's class , a guy
signed
for this.
He will be on Tuesday at the same Mercedes Benz Arena where seven years ago he survived in the sheer agony of Schroeder's free throws to later get up in Lille towards the last heavenly gold and there he will face the winner of the Croatia-Finland already with the taste of who exceeded expectations.
The irreverent selection of Scariolo, again a magician, was going to sign an exemplary resistance exercise.
From dawn, with courage and tactical rigor.
Knowing how to recompose himself later in a duel in which there was not a random detail, especially in defense.
After the initial score, it was Alberto Díaz who electrocuted the night in Berlin.
Again, what kind.
Bravo since he steps on the court, a triple, a couple of steals, a revolution.
Accompanied by Garuba and Rudy, that was a labyrinth for the rival, who saw shadows everywhere.
A triple by Brizuela stretched the score (27-20) and soon another bad news arrived for Lithuania.
Valanciunas' third foul was a symptom of his confusion.
And yet...
However, this Spain is not worth brushing against excellence.
The triples came out (seven failures in a row) as if by magic from the green rim and a Lithuanian arreón, an absolute majority in the stands, ruined all the previous work of Scariolo's men.
Powerful Sabonis appeared, a partial 0-7 and, above all, the feeling of vulnerability.
The break was a relief, because Maksvytis' men had found the formula: no one had scored 45 points in a half against Spain so far in the tournament.
The return did not bring better news.
Spain was still fragile in one hoop and tender and flawed in the other.
She fit in at an unsustainable pace and missed layups, wrists of different caliber, those triples by Kuzminskas and the maximum for the Baltics (47-58) even without Valanciunas.
Plan B, that of Díaz, Garuba and Rudy, worked halfway, because the difference did not decrease at all.
Failures from the perimeter were exasperating.
Without faith and without aim, only the desire, the courage of the offensive rebound, of the individual boasts, kept the pulse of Spain.
It was about not looking further, that in the next possession it was life, of risking one's physique for a rebound, that a recovered ball seemed like an empire.
But apart from all that, the non-negotiable effort, the team needed a leader.
Juancho, in perhaps his most serious match of the tournament, had insisted on being so, but the key was behind.
And there is always an impasse to continue believing.
Another Sabonis pat seemed like a deadly lunge (66-74, min. 36) and it was nothing more than a shock.
When nothing made him suspect, Spain rose from its ashes in a moving display.
With Willy's points, Lorenzo's mettle and the defensive heart of an immense Garuba.
A 14-4 run like a barrage of ferocity.
With life recovered, now it was a matter of those details that separate success.
And, again, Spain displayed an improper maturity.
After a triple by Bradzenski, a tapping like a temple by Garuba and another recovery in a throw-in, causing an offensive foul by Sabonis, by Alberto Díaz.
And it wasn't going to be enough, because an error in Willy's free throw and an agonizing tap on the buzzer by Bradzenski (again), took the duel to extra time.
There emerged the necessary hero, an immense Brown.
The calm of geniuses.
12 points (for a total of 28) and two assists, a recital supported by Díaz and his tricks, as if he had powers to appear and disappear and Garuba, owner of the hoops.
Spain, without due respect, is in the quarterfinals.
Who'd say.
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Articles Lucas Sáez-Bravo