Pau Gasol Inspires Spain To Eurobasket Triumph Over Lithuania
Pau Gasol scored 25 points as Spain lifted their third EuroBasket title with an 80-63 win over Lithuania in Lille.
Spain returned to the top of European basketball with an 80-63 win over Lithuania that saw them crowned EuroBasket champions for the third time in four tournaments.
Led by the superb Pau Gasol, Spain were dominant in Sunday's showpiece and never looked like losing after surging ahead early on.
Gasol continued his fine form in the competition with a further 25 points – taking his haul to 230 – and 12 rebounds as Lithuania were left to rue a second successive final defeat.
A dominant first quarter saw Spain immediately take control as they opened up an 11-point advantage, Gasol impressive as he racked up eight points.
The Chicago Bulls centre was ably assisted by Rudy Fernandez and that continued in the second quarter as Spain edged closer to glory, the forward scoring nine points by half-time while MVP Gasol added another seven to his tally.
Renaldas Seibutis tried his best to drag Lithuania back into the match, but his 13 points were in vain as Spain showed no sign of slowing down their scoring rate.
With a 17-point cushion heading into the final quarter, Spain's victory was all but secure and Gasol rounded off his night with a final three-pointer before two Felipe Reyes baskets completed Spain's triumph.
Meanwhile, in the bronze-medal match, France beat Serbia 81-68.