It took 24 years for Spain to reach a semi-final in Olympic Games. Last time they managed to do that was back in 1984 when they took silver medals losing to the United States in the final.
World Champions didn't leave much chances to Croatia in the first quarter-final in Beijing Olympics. Spaniards pressed their opponents from the start. The score was 10:1 at one point in the game as Croatia couldn't hit a shot.
Croatia was a team with the best 3-point shooting percentage in the Olympic Games so far but in the game that matters the most they quite poor from beyond the arc.
Spain celebrated quite an easy win 72:59 (22:11, 15:15, 14:12, 21:21). They were up by more than 20 points in the fourth quarter but Croats managed to reduce the lead in the last minute.
It will be either Lithuania or China who will meet Spain in the semi-final.
Spain: Pau Gasol 20, Felipe Reyes 13, Jose Manuel Calderon 10, Jorge Garbajosa 8, Rudy Fernandez 8, Alex Mumbru 7, Marc Gasol 3, Ricky Rubio 3.
Croatia: Marko Banic 15, Zoran Planinic 12, Roko Leni Ukic 7, Davor Kus 7, Marko Tomas 7, Kresimir Loncar 4, Marin Rozic 4, Sandro Nicevic 2, Nikola Prkacin 1.
