In their first real test of the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Spain soundly defeated top Group A challenger Brazil and reasserted themselves as the tournament's co-favorites. A torrid offensive start led by Pau Gasol put Spain in the driver's seat early, leading to an easy 82-63 victory.
FIBA World Cup 2014 results: Pau Gasol leads Spain in statement blowout over Brazil
Spain dispatched its top challenger in Group A with ease, pulling away early from Brazil for an 82-63 win.
Matt Kryger-USA TODAY Sports
Spain wasted little time in taking control. Early threes by Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez whipped the home crowd in Granada into a frenzy and gave Spain a 15-4 lead. From there, Pau Gasol took over, scoring 10 points in the quarter, the last two of which gave Spain an 18-point lead.
FIBA World Cup
Brazil started to calm down in the second quarter and cut the lead to 13 by halftime, but Spain quickly regained control early in the third quarter thanks to three straight made threes by Gasol. A triple by Juan Carlos Navarro with just under four minutes remaining in the period pushed Spain’s advantage back up to 22. Brazil never seriously threatened from there.
Pau Gasol ended the game with 26 points and nine rebounds, continuing yet another strong international tournament. The new Chicago Bulls star dropped 33 points on Iran in Spain's opener and looks quicker and fresher than he has since the 2012 Olympics. His play in London didn't carry over to the Lakers, but the hope is that a new situation with a more defensive-oriented team will continue his revival.
Spain is now in the driver’s seat in Group A and will only surrender first place if they collapse in either of their final two group games against Serbia and France. With three elite starting big men, quality depth in the backcourt and a revived Pau, they appear to be as strong as ever.
That’s bad news for Team USA if the two teams indeed meet in what would be a highly-anticipated final. Team USA survived Spain in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, but this looks to be Spain’s strongest team ever and may very well be Team USA’s weakest since 2004. Is this the year Spain finally breaks through?
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