Spain triumphed in Poland to earn their first EuroBasket title

Europe’s top basketball nations gathered in Poland for the 2009 EuroBasket Championship.

Spain were the dominant force in the tournament, which they won for the first time. The competition also served as a qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, with Spain, Serbia, Greece, Slovenia, France and Croatia booking much sought after tickets for Turkey.

The Championship really got going following two toughly fought group rounds, with eight teams making it through to the knock out stages of the tournament.

In the first quarter-final, Serbia knocked out Russia with a straightforward 79-68 win.

In quarter-final two, Spain swept France aside 86-66 in impressive fashion, in what was Pau Gasol’s highest scoring game (28 points) of the Championship.

In the third quarter-final, Greece needed overtime to knock out Turkey in an extremely tight game that went right down to the wire. Turkey, behind for most of the game, clawed their way back late on to force the game into overtime. But with Greece leading 76-74 nine seconds from the end, Ender Arslan, missed a game-winning three-pointer, ending Turkey’s hopes of glory.

Also in the quarter-finals, Slovenia produced a spectacular comeback, having been led 47-32 with the first half drawing to a close. In a miserable third quarter for the Croatians, Slovenia threw the game on its head, taking the period 14-3. Slovenia held on tight in the fourth, finally overcoming their neighbours 67-65.

This set things up nicely for the semi-finals.

Spain, after a slow start to the Championship, were rapidly becoming unstoppable. Their opponents Greece, after their great start to the tournament, seemed unable to cope with the relentless pressure piled on them by the Spaniards.

Carlos Cabezas, who until then had played little part in Poland, was arguably Spain’s best player on the night, as he came off the bench with a 100% shooting success rate, scoring 8 points and contributing 4 assists as well as chipping in with some solid defensive play. The game finished 82-64 in favour of the Spaniards.

The other semi-final proved to be a much closer affair. In a game with multiple twists and turns, Serbia fought back from a first quarter deficit, putting together an impressive third period in which they dominated Slovenia 21-12.

After a second reversal of fortunes, at 76-79 and with less than a minute remaining, Serbia squared things up with a three pointer bringing the game into overtime. Milos Teodosic then poured in 8 points of his game-high 32, guiding Serbia to a narrow 96-92 victory and a place in the final.

Although the Spaniards were in fine form, the final was by no means a foregone conclusion. Serbia had created an upset in their opening game defeating Spain by the surprising margin of 66-57.

But history was not to repeat itself in the final in Katowice. Clearly out for revenge, Spain made an amazing start, surging to a 15 point lead within the first quarter. Another strong game from Gasol, in which he scored 18 points and secured 11 rebounds, helped the Spaniards tear apart a young Serbia team 85-63, from whom much more is surely to come, and secured a first ever EuroBasket gold for Spain.

Upon the their triumphant return, Spain’s Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez ZAPATERO congratulated the team, giving special thanks to Championship MVP and top scorer Gasol: "I thank Pau Gasol's commitment to the national team. It is exemplary. Pau, you don't know how much you contribute positively to the national team."

Final standings:

1. Spain
2. Serbia
3. Greece
4. Slovenia
5. France
6. Croatia
7. Russia
8. Turkey
9. F.Y.R. of Macedonia
9. Poland
11. Germany
11. Lithuania
13. Great Britain
13. Israel
13. Bulgaria
13. Latvia

Official event website:
www.eurobasket2009.org