Great Britain really showing some teeth against reigning World Champions Spain as the latter struggled and needed a late run to beat the Brits.
The Spaniards had a steady double digit lead throughout the game up until the end of the third quarter. The Brits however were not ready to give up and pulled off a 12-0 run in the first 3:30' minutes of the final quarter to take a 2-point lead (68-66). Jarrett Hart gave even a 4-point lead to his team a couple of posessions later hitting another 3-pointer. It was then when Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro stepped up for the Spaniards, leading Spain to a 12-0 run and securing the win with 84-76.
Spain: P.Gasol 27, Fernandez 13, Rubio 5, Navarro 10, Claver 12, Reyes 4, Cabezas, Lopez, Llull, M.Gasol 8, Mumbru 5, Garbajosa
Great Britain: Hart 15, Achara 7, Lenzly 14, Mensah-Bonsu 6, Sullivan 6, George, Archibald 4, Freeland 10, Reinking 10, Clark, Boyd 4, Betts
Spain 84-76 Great Britain
Game quotes:
Chris Finch (Great Britain Coach): "I want to congratulate our opponents, they did a very good job down the stretch. The game looked exactly like we thought – they started strong, we were shaking-up line-ups until we found one that worked and we came back to the game. It was fun to watch our players giving it all and competed the way they did today, but in the end it's the results that matter – and we lost the game."
Mike Lenzly (Great Britain Guard):"It's a tough loss to take, we worked hard, put a better effort than last night. We gave everything we had, but credit goes to our opponents. They took punches from us, but they fought back at the end."
Sergio Scariolo (Spain Coach): "It's a really important win for us. We also got some good news today, with Rudy Fernandez being able to play. I'm happy with the way we started and the way we reacted to the opponents great shooting in second half. They took a four points lead, but we kept our nerves under control and we made some important shots."
Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain's guard):"It was a difficult game, we finally won and it was a very important win for us."
