Spain and Lithuania fight for international supremacy at EuroBasket title game

After dozens of practices, several weeks of warmup games and a grueling 16-day tournament, either Spain or Lithuania will be crowned champions for Eurobasket 2015.

Each team already qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics just by making it to the championship game, but Spain and Lithuania still have something to play. Athletes at this level are all hypercompetitive and they’ve invested two months to reach the finals. While the Olympics berth is solace for a loss, it’s certainly not what either side is aiming for this tournament, not when they started and certainly not after they made it to the final game.

Both sides are missing star players but national pride is still the biggest motivator in international play. Here’s how Spain and Lithuania each advanced to the finals and which players have performed well this tournament.

Because they weren’t at full strength, Spain has relied on Pau throughout the tournament and he responded by being the best player in Eurobasket 2015. Through eight games, he’s averaging 26 points on 59 percent shooting while playing 30 minutes a game. He has scored at least 16 in every game so far this tournament and reached 30 points or more three times.

Still, despite Gasol’s absolute dominance, Spain’s road has been filled with near missteps. Spain dropped their opening game in group play against Serbia and lost again to Italy two games later. In danger of missing the cut, Spain eked out a victory against Germany in the final seconds only when Dennis Schroeder missed a game-tying free throw.

While Gasol was fantastic throughout, his magnum opus came in the semifinals against Spain’s northern neighbor and basketball archrival, France. He scored a magnificent 40 points in a 80-75 win, including the final eight points in overtime, to guarantee a 2016 Olympics berth for his home country. It was an incredible performance from the 35-year-old Spanish superstar and one that will go down in the history books.

Lithuania didn’t have a men’s national team until the country gained independence in 1990. Since then, they’ve finished in third or fourth place in every Olympics except the last one.

In 2012, Lithuania fell to eighth place -- a momentarily low for the program. However, the next generation of Lithuanian basketball players were just developing and joining the NBA. At the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Lithuania matched the United States for two quarters before falling in the second half to finish fourth.

Jonas Valanciunas has been the key cog for the Lithuanian roster, averaging 17 points on 60 percent shooting, plus eight rebounds and nearly two blocks. The 30-year-old Jonas Maciulis is second on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) with blistering percentages of 49 percent from the floor and 59 percent behind the arc. Point guard Mantas Kalnietis is averaging eight assists in the eight games while averaging 10 points himself.

Spain has been the most successful European team for a decade and the only country since Argentina to pose a legitimate challenge to the United States. Winning Eurobasket this year adds another accomplishment to their leader. With an Olympics berth already locked up, though, losing without their full complement of players doesn’t mean much.

A win means more for Lithuania, although again, their Olympics berth for next season has already been determined. Valanciunas and Motiejunas are both young big men who can help carry the team for the next few years. With a win at Eurobasket, Lithuania can earn the spotlight on what has truthfully been more than a decade of solid international play by a country that isn’t typically recognized as such.

And then there’s the players. If you don’t think this means something to the players, here’s a reminder of how Pau Gasol felt in the semifinals win against France.

Time: 8 a.m. ET

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN 2

Stream: WatchESPN