03/09/2006
Game Re****t, Spain vs Greece, 70-47 GOLD MEDAL GAME
SAITAMA (FIBA World Champion****p) - Spain played their hearts out for
injured hero Pau Gasol and captured their first world title with a
70-47 mauling of Greece on Sunday.
Gasol, their superstar power forward who led the team in scoring and
rebounding as they went undefeated in the build-up to the FIBA World
Champion****p and the tournament itself, suffered a partial fracture of
his fifth metatarsal in his left foot late in Friday's semi-final win
over Argentina and was ruled out of the game.
The Spanish got inspirational efforts from Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos
Navarro, captain Carlos Jimenez, Felipe Reyes and Marc Gasol, Pau's
21-year-old brother, and rolled to a 70-47 triumph.
Pau Gasol, because he had been so dominate in the tournament before the
injury, was honoured as the tournament's Most Valuable Player after
the Spanish team was presented with its gold medals.
"This is fantastic," said Spain coach Pepu Hernandez.
"We've come out with so much emotion on the court and we are world
champions."
Spain's victory in their first final means they finished the summer
unbeaten and qualified for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
The defeat ends a terrific run for Greece, who went unbeaten in the
very difficult Group C in Hamamatsu.
They also beat the United States 101-95 in their semi-final.
"We had a tough game against the USA so we came into this game with a
lot of nerves," said Greece's legendary coach Panagiotis Yan****is.
"It's unbelievable to see two European teams in the final. We saw
that the level of basketball in Europe is very high."
Players wore a T-****rt which read "Pau tambien juega" (Pau is also
playing) as they entered the court before the game.
Felipe Reyes started in Pau Gasol's place and had 10 points -
including six of the team's first 10 - while coach Pepu Hernandez
went to Marc Gasol early and he rewarded him with seven rebounds, two
points and excellent defense to neutralise the impact of Greek center
Sofoklis Schortsianitis.
Feyes' jump shot put Spain in front at 10-9 and Jose Manuel Calderon
and Navarro followed with three-pointers as Herndez's team built a
lead they would never lose.
By the end of the opening quarter, Spain led 18-12, and they delivered
a knockout punch at the start of the second.
Navarro started things off with a jumper inside the arc, and Garbajosa
buried back-to-back three-pointers before Navarro struck again with a
basket to take the lead to 28-12.
Greece's players and their fans were shell-shocked.
They had trailed Qatar by the same deficit in their first game of Group
C and come back to win easily, but Spain are a far better side and they
pressed home the advantage.
When Berni Rodriguez nailed a three-pointer - Spain's sixth of the
first half - with just three seconds remaining in the second quarter,
Pau Gasol jumped up from his seat on the bench and hopped on one foot
to celebrate as they took a 43-23 lead to the changing rooms.
Greece closed to 43-27 on Dimitris Diamantidis' jumper less than two
minutes into the third quarter, but Spain quickly restored their lead
and cruised to victory.
Jose Luis Saez, the president of the Spanish federation, said: "This
is the greatest basketball lesson I have ever seen.
"It's a lesson of pride, rage and team effort.
"Everybody thought that without Gasol, we had no chance but Spain has
proved it has a team, and Pau Gasol was today the best player on the
court.
"I just want the Spanish people to enjoy this moment."
Garbajosa and Navarro led the scoring parade with 20 points apiece with
the former a scintillating six of 11 from the arc and Navarro four of
nine.
Jimenez was immense on the boards and defense. He had 11 rebounds and
two steals to go with his four points and was a warrior in the paint
against Greece's big men.
Mihalis Kakiouzis had 17 points to pace Greece and Theo Papaloukas
added 10.
By Jeff Taylor, FIBA
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