By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Spain became the 2019 FIBA World Cup champions after a convincing 95-75 win over Argentina in the Final.
This is Spain’s second World Cup gold – and second World Cup medal in total – with the first being in 2006 in Japan while Argentina won their second silver medal. Their first was in 2002 in the US while they won the first edition of FIBA World Cup in 1950 (held in Argentina).
The World Cup and the Final MVP Ricky Rubio scored 20 in addition to Sergio Llull’s 15. Marc Gasol, who became the second player (after Lamar Odom) to win both the World Cup and NBA title the same year, logged 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
For Argentina, Gabriel Deck banked 24 points and Nicolas Laprovittola 17 points. Facundo Campazzo added 11 points while Spain did a great job in stopping Luis Scola who scored his first field goal in the fourth quarter and finished with eight points.
Argentina was off to a nervous start as they had trouble scoring in the first four and a half minutes with just Nicolas Brussino hitting a floater. Meanwhile, the experienced Spanish lineup used that to their advantage and along with paint control created an early 14-2 lead. Coach Sergio Hernandez called a timeout after which Brussino nailed two triples to spark Argentina’s comeback (14-13) but Spain answered with a 9-1 run to close the first quarter (23-14).
Rudy Fernandez nailed two shots from behind the arc early in the second period as Spain grabbed 31-14 lead. Argentina managed to soften the blow by halftime but Spain still had a 43-31 advantage.
Spain kept their composure and control of the paint after the break as well, slowing down the game, getting Argentina into foul trouble and increasing the gap to a 22-point margin (55-33). Argentina tried to bounce back with a few runs but Spain didn’t allow them to go any further and kept their distance until the very end for the win and another World Cup gold.
Game Highlights:
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL