The Gasol brothers were in outstanding form as they helped Spain to a Eurobasket bronze medal and give Juan Carlos Navarro a happy finale as he retires from international basketball.
Pau Gasol had 26 points and 10 rebounds with his brother Marc adding 25 as Spain beat Russia 93-85 in Sunday’s 3rd/4th place game.
Alexey Shved led Russia with 18 points as they miss out on a podium finish but despite the loss, they can certainly leave Eurobasket with their heads held high following the disappointment they have suffered from 2013 to now where they didn’t get out of group phase of the previous two tournaments.
Marc Gasol was forced to sit out the second quarter due to an ankle injury he sustained in the opening period but Spain remained focussed and took a comfortable 45-28 lead at the half. Marc was able to return to action in the second half.
Their comfort was short-lived though as Russia stormed back at with 2:01 left, narrowed the gap to 83-79 on the back of a three-point play from Timofey Mozgov.
Spain regrouped established an eight-point lead in the final minute to secure third place for the second time since 2013.
