74-81: Spain, one step away from the Games after walking into the abyss

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A single match separates the Spanish team from being in Paris for just a few weeks. Sergio Scariolo’s team must beat the Bahamas Islands tonight (8:30 pm) if they want to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games, after defeating demanding Finland (74-81) in a painful final, which met omnipresent Willy Hernangómez -28 points- to undo the Nordic trap.

And Finland played with team pressure from the start. Neither Lorenzo Brown first, nor Juan Núñez later led a restless Spanish team, who only found small breaks through Willy Hernangómez and the introductions of Santi Aldama. But on defense it’s a different story. Finland’s mobility killed a Spain out of control (15-20, m.9) and where Mikael Jantunen and Olivier Nkamhoua roamed at will.

Scariolo quickly realized this and released Usman Garuba, Jaime Pradilla and Alberto Díaz, changing the match from the defense. They again balanced the match in six minutes where they left the Nordic team without scoring. Spain did not have the clairvoyance of Núñez or Brown in attack, but found an agitator Darío Brizuela, with defensive help behind, led a run of 9-0 (24-20, m.15).

Brown’s return also led to nine almost consecutive points that seemed to kill the match (36-27, m.19), but Finnish point guard Edon Maxhuni came to Finland’s rescue. with two triples that kept the European team in the game before closing the break (38-30).

Maxhuni also tried again when he returned from the locker room, asserting his victory in three. Willy countered in the paint but Jantunen did the same with the rival basket (44-41, m.23). The Brown-Willy duo is very effective in attack, but things are still not working in defense. And Finland went from 54-45 to 56-59 (m.28) with a partial score of 2-14 that stopped Fonteta.

Finland, as if that was not enough, entered the zone and took advantage of the local anxiety to go within five (56-61, m.31), and, when things were worst, two triples in a row by Alberto Díaz and his recovery that ended Brizuela’s basket from the corner brought life to Scariolo’s team (63-64, m.33).

Lots of leftovers. The exchange of triples left the match tied with two minutes remaining with the victory of Alexander Madsen and Jacob Grandison (72-72, m.38).

Willy appeared there. When the ball burns the ball, the center reappears. With a basket after a fake flew past his defender and two subsequent free throws, he quieted a game that ended in madness and left Spain a game behind Paris.

Data sheets

Finland-Spain, 74-81

74.- Finland (20+18+29+15): Maxhuni (11), Valtonen (3), Grandison (8), Jantunen (13), Nkamhoua (6) -starting five-, Little (6), Salin ( -), Muurinen (4), Gustavson (15) and Madsen (8).

81.- Spain (17+13+18+25): Brown (15), Llull (5), López-Arostegui (-), Aldama (15), Willy Hernangómez (28) – starting five – Díaz (7), Núñez (-), Brizuela (8), Rudy Fernández (3), Garuba (-) and Pradilla (-).

Referees: Kozlovskis (LAT), Batista (PUR) and Burns (USA). Nothing was removed.

Incidents: second semi-final of the Valencia Pre-Olympic Tournament, played at La Fonteta before 5,132 spectators.

Source: La Verdad

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