KATOWICE, Poland – Pau Gasol scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead world champion Spain to an 85-63 win over Serbia in the final of the European basketball championship on Sunday.
The victory gives Spain its first ever European title after six runner-up finishes, and was extra sweet for Gasol, who had to settle for silver at the 2003 and 2007 editions of the tournament.
“It was a great game, and obviously we won the final that we lost twice before this year, so I’m extremely happy and it’s an unforgettable day for us,” Gasol said. “We just worked so hard to win this championship and I’m just super proud of my teammates.”
Two years after losing in the final in the closing seconds, Spain made sure to take care of business early this year.
The Spaniards dominated from start to finish on both ends of the court, playing pressure man-to-man defense, cleaning up on the boards and pushing the tempo for fast break baskets to jump to a 15-point first quarter lead.
Serbia would never recover from the early onslaught.
“We lost the first half, and probably the game was finished,” Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic said. “The Spanish team was better and they deserved absolutely this title.”
Spain was tipped as the favorite coming into the tournament, but struggled early, dropping its opener to Serbia, 66-57, and a second round game to Turkey.
That loss, however, prompted the team to change its attitude and raise its level of play.
“We were aware of our individual quality, but we weren’t playing as well or as good as we should have collectively,” Gasol said. “So we sat down, and were like it’s now or never, we have to react, we have to work together, we have to start having fun playing, playing with enthusiasm. And it just clicked.” (AP)