Spain closed the first stage of Eurobasket in the best way, with a brilliant victory over Turkey (69-72), is fourth in the tournament, which guarantees him first place in Group A and, in theory, gives him a much more affordable pass in the 16th round, where he will have to play on Saturday in Berlin, where the entire final stage of the tournament takes place. will be played. Scariolo’s team justified their ability to react after skating against Belgium with two consecutive victories that boosted their confidence against Montenegro and Turkey.

Against the opponent with the greatest potential in the group, Spain presented a great collective image despite the lack of a core player like Rudy., Scariolo defended for a blow to the knee. This is his great strength. Turkey has decisive players like Ricky Rubio’s teammate Osman in the Cavaliers; Doesn’t Fear the Sixers; Şengün, the young talent of the Rockets, or Shane Larkin, the quarterback of Efes. But the team learns to fix their weaknesses with commitment to the team, and this has allowed them not only to stand up, but also to set the pace for many of the detailed stages of the game.

Turkey has threatened from the beginning with Osman’s talent and Şengün’s actions, who scored three three-pointers in the first quarter. But Willy Hernangomez was responsible for giving the first answers of the electionContinuing to work very well in defense when faced with Montenegro.

The Pelicans center was not the only one. His brother Juancho and Brizuela took their place in the attack from the bench. And even Sebas Sáiz had moments where he stood out (34-38), chaining up a few good defensive moves and also leading the offensive team to take the first half lead.

Brown’s leadership

Spain, who qualified for the round of 16, played very smartly, Always looking for the best option in extra pass and offense to counter every blow from Turkeyhe moved much more especially with the winds blowing from the 3 point line.

The good judgment of Lorenzo Brown, who was more and more embedded in Scariolo’s and also Díaz’s plans every day, was crucial to the proper image of the team, which managed to focus on defense in the second half and still not leave the match. Korkmaz and Osman chaining up a few threes in a new Turkey winning streak. Only Larkin was calmer than usual. Sáiz was the one who gave the team a defensive boost in the first half, while Garuba managed to step up in the second half, adding a few steals, allowing him to finish two counter attacks and six points ahead at the end of the third quarter (50-56).

Starting the last quarter with 7-0, Turkey once again gave a three-pointer to balance the pulse (59-59, art. 35). But election retained its solvency at the final stage Willy Hernangómez’s consistency under the hoops, scores from López-Arostegui and Brown, as well as defensive contribution from Alberto Díaz, were key in stealing Larkin from a decisive kick-off with 19 seconds left to seal the win. your choice.