By Nikos Varlas / varlas@eurohoops.net
Pau Gasol was dominant and unstoppable in the entire game (30 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Spain, with an excellent fourth quarter (25-11), beat Poland 80-66 and advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face Greece on Tuesday, in a big traditional derby.
Gasol made an extraordinary performance, with 10/14 shooting and 6/7 from the three-point range, while he is now number four on the Eurobasket’s all-time scoring list with 949 points. For Poland, which ran out of energy and failed to fight for the victory until the end, Damian Kulig had 10 points and six rebounds.
The match was a close derby until the last quarter (25-20, 41-39, 52-55) but the Spaniards made a 15-2 run, took a 10-point advantage (67-57) and never looked back to claim the easy victory, although their performance was mediocre.