2013 EuroBasket Roundup | Sept. 17, 2013
The Spain National Team remains alive in the 2013 EuroBasket tournament, but the two-time defending champions aren’t taking the easy road this time around. Spain fell to Italy 86-81 in overtime on Monday, dropping their overall EuroBasket record to 5-3.
Spain has already secured the fourth spot in Group F and will advance into the tournament’s quarterfinals on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. CT. That game will be streamed on ESPN3.com. Still, the team is looking to find its stride after losing two of its three second round games.
The latest came in a thriller at Slovenia’s Stozice Arena in Ljubljana. Italy’s Luigi Datome hit a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation that tied the score at 70-70—Spain had led by as many as 15 points . Italy then went on an 8-0 run in the extra session that created enough separation to hold on.
Marc Gasol led the way for Spain in the loss. He had 32 points and added 10 rebounds in defeat, while Sergio Rodriguez finished with 18 points and six assists. Ricky Rubio finished the game with two points on 1-of-4 shooting while collecting one assist.
For Italy, Alessandro Gentile led the way with 25 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Marco Belinelli finished with 16 points, PIetro Aradori had 17 and Datome finished with 11.
Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, France, Croatia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Italy all advanced to the EuroBasket quarterfinals, which take place on Wednesday and Thursday. The semifinals will be played on Friday, and the championship will be held on Sunday. All quarterfinal, semifinal and final games will take place at Stozice Arena in Ljubljana.