Spain’s stars pasting Lithuania’s experience (91-86) & into the final

August 22nd, 2008

Lithuanians have Reached 4 Olympic semi-finals in a row and that’s definitely an achievement to admire! Spain and its stars faced a really tough opponent in the semi-final, while missing on the lead several times; it was a very close game while injured Jose Manuel Calderon (NBA Toronto raptors) was just supporting from the bench seats.

Despite the presence of NBA star Pau Gasol (NBA Los Angeles Lakers), Lithuanians managed to keep up with the level and the score of the game. The leaders of Group A in preliminaries were really hard to overcome and Spaniards were having a real test, in addition to the threat of being brought down!

17 year-old Ricky Rubio absolutely fascinated the crowds, and some of the challenger’s players; TV viewers will be thrilled to see him grow up in Basketball jerseys.

During the game, Spain was aware of the need to cover the long range lane and showed a great balance between defense and offense. At the end, they were better and deserved to win in this intense battle (91-86)

Lithuania made 6 of 13(46%) from long range in the 2nd quarter, taking the lead on the break.

Spanish coach Aito Garcia saluted the magnificent efforts of Lithuania who clearly evolved since the 2 teams were put face to face in what seemed like a massacre for Lithuanian Basketball early in the summer (91-66).

Finalist Spain’s bid on facing a sturdy and unbending Lithuania in this semi-final of Beijing was a wisely put bet but they allocated all their resources towards leaving the Olympics with a respectful image that suits the world champions: they are in the final game, in a rematch of their match with the USA’s Dream team.

What will Spain be betting on this time?

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