Scariolo’s team overcame a bad start and the absentees to caress the game against one of the favorites with the nationalized point guard
Rarely does a defeat leave such a good taste in the mouth. Spain lost in Lithuania, yes, but they felt like they are a mentally strong team, very competitive. The team led by Sergio Scariolo managed to overcome the absences of Willy Hernangómez, Rudy Fernández and Sergio Llull and, despite a bad start, talked about victory until the last second against one of the favorites for the Eurobasket in their own hometown .
There was also the positive note of Lorenzo Brown’s best performance since his debut as a Spaniard. The American descent base came out in favor and showed some of what the Federation coaching staff and board saw in him to do everything possible for his inclusion in the Spanish team. He missed the final decisive triple, which would have meant the win, but he scored (18 points) and directed (5 assists), especially in a fourth quarter comeback that was about to turn the horrific start.
And it is that in Las Palmas Lithuania had already warned about its great power, especially in painting. Without Willy, Rudy or Llull, exempt from the trip to Vilnius even before the preparations began, the company doubled its difficulties. Garuba acted as the starting center under the circumstances, with the goal of getting the Houston Rockets player rolling, but the truth is that the Lithuanian start, backed by an enthusiastic crowd, was powerful. Intimidating even. Ten behind (12-2) in a seen and not seen, with Giedraitis mercilessly punishing from beyond the line of three.
As the storm abated from afar, Valanciunas took over under the backboard, as if trying to show that without Willy, the Spanish team has no answer to such a dominant player inside. The thing already took on a dramatic undertone with the 19-4 and the Spanish team fraught with fouls until the bonus halfway through the first set, but at least the luck was tied to Spain so that a pass from Sima in circus fashion turned into a triple.
In the vein of what happened 48 hours earlier, Spain made arrests on its poor start to bite into its disadvantage until 25-17 closing the first quarter. The return to the parquet floor of the men who started the match did not give Scariolo’s team the momentum to even the game, with another local rush for 36-23 and many more offensive blockades. Thus, with an absolute chorus score, the Spanish team returned to make the rubber to bring the break down nine points, an acceptable result after the first hurricane launched by the Baltic team.
This Spain may not have the talent of yesteryear, but if anything is made clear by the most demanding preparation in memory, it is that they have the mental strength to hold on to matches in the most complicated of conditions. He won thrills until the last fifteen minutes, the decisive one, and there he put fear into the body of a great team like Lithuania and its devoted fans. Brown sharpened the peephole and entered the burns typical of American exteriors. Full-fledged gamer. His performance, which certainly made Garbajosa in the stands smile, only lacked the classic ending of a Yankee movie. The deciding triple didn’t come in, but Spain and Brown won thrills for the real competition.
Source: La Verdad
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
