Dazed, completely groggy on his bench after a collision with his teammate Juancho Hernangomez, forced to go to the locker room before the final buzzer, Rudy Fernandez did not have the opportunity to see Spain narrowly escape against Greece on Tuesday morning at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium (84-77). The tireless 39-year-old winger, who had scored two huge three-pointers in the last period to allow his team to maintain the advantage, experienced a breathtaking money-time in the locker room, marked by the Greeks’ return to equality (71-71), on a huge dunk (plus foul) by Giannis Antetokounmpo (27 points, 11 rebounds).
The 8-0 for the Spanish that followed did not prevent their opponents from gradually coming back into the game. To the point of obtaining, 35 seconds from the buzzer, a possession to equalize.
15/31
The Spanish made 15 three-pointers in 31 attempts against Greece. At halftime, their success was impressive: 11 of 17.
After taking their time, the Greeks finally found Antetokounmpo at the top of the key, at three points, and Sergio Scariolo’s men voluntarily chose to let him shoot, for the first time of the day at this distance. The Milwaukee Bucks player narrowly missed the target, and Spain even allowed themselves to end the game with a basket at the buzzer, to increase the final gap to seven points.
A scenario that delighted the audience, not really sure to witness such a finale when Spain had joined the locker room at the break with a 15-point lead (49-35, 20th). After their inaugural defeat against Australia (92-80), Santi Aldama (19 points, 12 rebounds) and his team are getting back into the race for the quarter-finals, which they will complete on Friday against Canada. Greece will play for survival the same day against Australia.
2024-07-30 11:07:28
#Spain #race #quarterfinals #Olympics #sinks #Antetokounmpos #Greece
