With more pain than glory, Spain sealed their pass to the second round of the World Cup and the leadership of Group C in a thick and gray performance, marked by their mistakes in shooting and inaccuracies, against a Puerto Rican team that dreamed of the victory but ran out of strength at the end (63-73).
Marc Gasol and Sergio Llull’s points after the break and the final defensive improvement allowed a team denied from the perimeter to take off, which only scored four of their thirty triples but was at least able to save a marker that was in danger until the middle of the third quarter .
After what was seen at its premiere, the question remained whether Spain would be seen in the first half against Tunisia, which generated uneasiness and seemed to start with the handbrake on, or the one that after the break overwhelmed its rival in an exhibition coral that left a very good taste in the mouth of its fans.
And in the first two rooms the first thing happened. Spain returned thicker, which did not come out at all in attack, lack of ideas and denied before the basket, with unusual percentages in its players, which allowed Puerto Rico to dream of repeating the victory it achieved in 2002 in the Indianapolis World Cup.
Although initially Ricky Rubio and David Huertas seemed to prolong the good moment they exhibited on Saturday and monopolized the first attacks, their streaks stayed there. The clash started balanced, with slight advantages for the Caribbean against a Spanish team that started again at idle speed and did not work either in attack or defense.
Sergio Scariolo’s men lacked freshness in their attacks, a better sealing of their rear and, above all, greater success from the perimeter, so the dominance of the scoreboard was for many minutes by a rival who attacked without fear from all the angles.
The changes in the Spanish bench somewhat alleviated the situation, but if in the premiere the percentage of success from the triple was 51 percent, in the first quarter it fell to a very poor 13 percent (1/8) and the shots of two they were not encouraging either (5/13).
Spain was not well but at least they only lost by four (21-17) at the end of a bad first quarter, more typical of a preparation match than of a World Cup performance, in which they were overcome by a rival who attacked with joy and he stood up to him in every action with a simple but effective basketball.
In the resumption, Spain was still denied from the 6.75 line, so it pulled Pierre Oriola to, with a claw under the Puerto Rican ring, prevent the takeoff of a Puerto Rican team that hurt with Ángel Rodríguez’s triples .
The gap was minimal, but the feelings were very different in each other and the game passed between losses, inaccuracies and new errors.
Until a mild Spanish reaction arrived that was enough to link a 9-0 run with which he resumed command of the game. Although she went to the locker room winning by the minimum (35-36), she lost the battle in the spirit, rescuing her fears and desperate for her mistake, with improper percentages of her quality.
In the first twenty minutes he only scored fourteen of his forty shots to the basket (35%) and two of his seventeen triples (12%). He also lost the rebound (24-21) when on paper he was much superior in the paint, so he went to rest with bad feelings and a lot of work to do.
Five points from Marc Gasol gave him oxygen to stay up although the triples still did not enter and the game remained very open, with the Puerto Ricans just two points in the middle of the third quarter and Sergio Scariolo calling for another time-out to organize ideas in a unknown template up to that time.
From there, Spain clung to Gasol and pulled off Sergio Llull’s success to cement his redemption. Two consecutive baskets by the Balearic guard culminated the best minutes of his team and cleared the panorama, to which the improvement in defense also contributed, which stopped the production of an opponent who, stuck, could only score ten points in as many minutes (45 -57, min 30).
On the contrary, Gasol added eleven and Llull eight in that third period. Both were fundamental in the Spanish revival.
Eddie Casiano’s men kept trying in the final ten minutes in search of a miracle like the one they experienced against Iran, to which they traced 18 points, but the exchange of baskets did not favor them. A pair of triples lowered his deficit to ten four minutes from the end.
With a personal move, Gian Clavell left the difference in six with a minute and a half to play, but Puerto Rico no longer had the strength for more and ended up giving up its first defeat in the Tournament.
With their second win, Spain sealed their pass to the second round and the leadership of Group C in the absence of facing Iran, while the Puerto Ricans will play it on Wednesday against Tunisia, as both teams are tied to a victory.
– Data sheet:
63 – Puerto Rico (21 + 14 + 10 + 18): Browne (11), Díaz (5), Franklin (2), Huertas (7) and Balkman (6) -the starting five-, Pineiro (2), Clemente ( 2), Collier (6), Rodríguez (9), Clavell (13) and Mojica (-).
73 – Spain (17 + 19 + 21 + 16): Ricky Rubio (17), Rudy Fernández (5), Víctor Claver (7), Juancho Hernangómez (8) and Marc Gasol (19) -five starting-, Quino Colom ( 2), Pau Ribas (-), Willy Hernangómez (-), Pierre Oriola (6), Sergio Llull (9) and Xavi Rabaseda (-).
Referees: Michael Weiland (CAN), Giorgios Poursanidis (GRE) and James Alexander Boyer (AUS). Gary Bowne was fouled out.
Incidents: match of the second day of Group C in the World Cup in China played at the Guangzhou Gymnasium in Canton before some 8,500 people, including several groups of Spanish and Puerto Rican fans. The game was witnessed from the box by former NBA player Dirk Nowitzki. EFE