Spain and Ricky Rubio got the job done vs Argentina and clinched their place in the Quarter-finals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Rubio had a career-high 26 points, on 8/13 shooting and 5/6 from beyond the arc, leading Spain to the 81-71 win over Argentina at the Saitama Super Arena.
A 20-9 run in the second quarter was enough for Spain, which closed the first half in front by six (40-34) and never looked back. For their part, the Argentinians did their best to turn things around, but the Spaniards stood tall and took the win.
Nicolas Laprovittola was the top scorer for Argentina with 27 points (9/14 shooting, 4/5 two-pointers and 5/9 from beyond the arc), yet this wasn’t enough for his team to win the game.
Spain remained undefeated in Group C (2-0) and joined Slovenia in the knockout stage of the competition. The clash between the two teams will determine who will claim the first place in the group.
On the other hand, Argentina now need to defeat Japan on Sunday to remain alive in the battle for the quarter-finals as the third best team.
