2013 EuroBasket Roundup | Sept. 9, 2013
Editor’s Note: The 2013 EuroBasket tournament is taking place Sept. 4-22 in Slovenia this year, and it includes Wolves guards Ricky Rubio (Spain) and Alexey Shved (Russia). Throughout the tournament, Timberwolves.com will follow both players’ performances for their respective teams as they try represent their countries prior to the 2013-14 NBA season.
Spain Wraps Up Pool C Play With 4-1 Record
CELJE, Slovenia — The Spain National Team picked up three victories over the weekend after an upset loss to Slovenia late last week, and Spain finished its Pool C play at the 2013 EuroBasket tournament with a 4-1 record.
Spain will have two days off before playing Thursday in Pool E play, which is the second round of competition.
Spain handled the Czech Republic 60-39 on Saturday, then followed it up with an 89-53 victory over Poland on Sunday. It ended its pool play with a 83-59 win over Georgia on Monday morning.
Ricky Rubio put Spain in control in its final game of preliminary round play against Georgia on Monday, putting together a 16-point performance while also adding three assists and five rebounds in 18 minutes. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range. He led the team in scoring, while Sergio Rodriguez added 15 points, while Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Llull had 11. Marc Gasol had four points and eight rebounds in the victory.
Against Poland, five different players scored in double figures in the victory. Rubio and Gasol led the way with 15 points apiece, as Rubio ended the day shooting 6-of-12 from the field and notched five assists to go along with two steals and three boards. Fernandez had 13 points, Xavier Ray scored 12 and Rogriguez had 11. Spain shot 52 percent from the field and hit 12 3-pointers on the day.
Against the Czech Republic, Rubio finished with 10 points and three assists. Fernandez led the way with 14 points, while Llull had eight and Rodriguez had five. Eleven different Spain players recorded points in the win, while the team held the Czech Republic to 24.2 percent shooting from the field.
Russia 0-4 Heading Into EuroBasket Group D Finale
KOPER, Slovenia — Alexey Shved continues to shine during his 2013 EuroBasket campaign, but Russia hasn’t been able to pick up a victory through their first four contests in Pool D play. Russia enters its final game today against Turkey at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN3 with an 0-4 record and will not advance to second round play.
Shved has put up solid numbers throughout. He’s averaging 18.5 points through his first four games, is shooting 52.1 percent from inside the arc and has hit 5-of-15 attempts from 3-point range. He’s averaging 32 minutes and 3.9 assists per night.
In Sunday’s 86-83 loss to Finland, Shved had a tournament-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting. His teammate Evgeny Valiev had 16, and Semen Antonev had 10.
On Saturday against Sweden, Shved had a team-high 15 points in an 81-62 loss. He shot 6-of-14 from the field and hit a 3-pointer in the loss. Antonev scored 13 points and was the lone other Russian player in double figures.