EuroBasket 2011 final

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
EuroBasket 2011 Final
)
EuroBasket 2011 Final
FIBA EuroBasket 2011
Spain
France
Spain France
98 85
1234 Total
Spain
25252523 98
France
20212123 85
Date18 September 2011
Venue
2013
 →

The EuroBasket 2011 final was the championship game of

France. By virtue of FIBA Europe's two outright berths in the 2012 Summer Olympic basketball tournament, both finalists qualified for the 2012 London Games
.

The defending European champions Spain qualified to the final after topping their preliminary round group, winning their second round group, and beating

Russia
in the final round.

The Spanish team retained their European championship with a 98–85 win. Shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro was named the tournament MVP.[1][2][3]

He joined his teammate Pau Gasol and opponent Tony Parker as members of the all-tournament team who played in the final. Macedonia's Bo McCalebb and Russia's Andrei Kirilenko were also named to the team.

Match details

Joakim Noah started the game with two dunks to give the French team an 8–7 lead. José Calderón scored five points to give the Spaniards a 17–12 lead, forcing French coach Vincent Collet to call a timeout. The teams scored on several three-point shots but Spain held a 25–20 lead at the end of the first quarter. Spain stretched the lead to nine in the second quarter but two three-pointers from Mickaël Gelabale and Tony Parker kept the game close. However, Serge Ibaka's third block of the night led to a Pau Gasol basket to pad the Spanish lead to ten. Coming off another timeout, Ibaka blocked two more French shots. Later, Rudy Fernández was called for an unsportsmanlike foul against Tony Parker, whom he pulled down to the floor. This led to a French 7–0 run, capped off by a Nicolas Batum three-pointer and a dunk to cut the lead to five. Spain increased their lead to nine, 50–41, at the end of the first half.[4]

While the French were able to score at the start of the third quarter, Spain managed to maintain the lead within the 10-point margin. France scored five points in a row but Juan Carlos Navarro scored to prevent the lead from decreasing. The Spanish team started the fourth quarter with another run, and they retained the title they had won two years ago in Poland.[4]

Navarro, who scored 27 points in the final and 35 points in the semifinal against

Yugoslavia's 1997 title.[5]

After the game, Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero congratulated the team, remarking that "discounting the national football team which has just started its brilliant run, I think there is no other team in Spanish sport history that has shone as long as you have."[6]

18 September
21:00
Spain  98–85  France
Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 25–21, 25–21, 23–23
5 Pts: Parker 26
Rebs: Noah 8
Asts: Diaw 7
Žalgiris Arena, Kaunas
Attendance: 14,500
Referees: Luigi Lamonica (ITA), Ilija Belosevic (SRB), Sreten Radovic (CRO)

Road to the final

Spain  Stage  France
Team Pld W L PF PA
GA
Pts. Tie
 Spain 5 4 1 404 364 1.109 9 1–0
 Lithuania 5 4 1 429 374 1.147 9 0–1
 Turkey 5 3 2 385 333 1.156 8
 Great Britain 5 2 3 372 410 0.907 7 1–0
 Poland 5 2 3 401 424 0.945 7 0–1
 Portugal 5 0 5 344 430 0.800 5

Defeated

Poland
83–78
Defeated
Portugal
87–73
Defeated
Great Britain
86–69
Defeated Lithuania 91–79
Defeated by
Turkey
57–65

Preliminary round
Team Pld W L PF PA
GA
Pts.
 France 5 5 0 438 391 1.120 10
 Serbia 5 4 1 432 386 1.119 9
 Germany 5 3 2 377 357 1.056 8
 Israel 5 2 3 399 448 0.891 7
 Italy 5 1 4 380 405 0.938 6
 Latvia 5 0 5 385 424 0.908 5

Defeated

Latvia
89–78
Defeated
Israel
85–68
Defeated
Germany
76–65
Defeated
Italy
91–84
Defeated
Serbia
97–96 (OT)

Team Pld W L PF PA GA Pts. Tie
 Spain 5 4 1 405 340 1.191 9 1–0
 France 5 4 1 383 388 0.987 9 0–1
 Lithuania 5 3 2 405 397 1.020 8
 Serbia 5 2 3 388 412 0.942 7
 Germany 5 1 4 345 379 0.910 6 1–0
 Turkey 5 1 4 331 341 0.991 6 0–1

Defeated

Germany
77–68
Defeated
Serbia
84–59
Defeated
France
96–69

Second round
Team Pld W L PF PA GA Pts. Tie
 Spain 5 4 1 405 340 1.191 9 1–0
 France 5 4 1 383 388 0.987 9 0–1
 Lithuania 5 3 2 405 397 1.020 8
 Serbia 5 2 3 388 412 0.942 7
 Germany 5 1 4 345 379 0.910 6 1–0
 Turkey 5 1 4 331 341 0.991 6 0–1

Defeated

Turkey
68–64
Defeated Lithuania 73–67
Defeated by
Spain
96–69

Defeated
Slovenia
86–64
Quarterfinals Defeated
Greece
64–56
Defeated
Macedonia
92–80
Semifinals Defeated
Russia
79–71

Spain

The Spanish started their EuroBasket 2011 campaign with a close win against

Turkey won against Spain, who were leading by six points at the end of the third quarter when the Turks had a 16–2 run in the fourth period. Pau Gasol did not play as he injured his ankle in the game against Lithuania.[11]

In their first game in the second round, Spain led by nine against

France benched Tony Parker and Joakim Noah in their final second game, while Spain played most of their main players, leading to a blowout win for Spain.[14]

Macedonia started the game leading 7–4, later in the quarter, Pau Gasol was benched for committing two personal fouls. Gasol's replacement, Serge Ibaka had several dunks that led to a Spanish run to end the quarter, capped off by a Sergio Llull three-pointer to put Spain's lead at 26–18. Gasol returned in the second quarter, dunking to give the Spaniards their first double-digit margin when the Macedonians had their own 14–3 run, capped off a three-pointer from Damjan Stojanovski to retake the lead, 32–31; Macedonia retained the one-point lead at halftime. Neither of the teams pulled away early in the third quarter, but Juan Carlos Navarro's three-point shots give Spain a 71–62 margin to prevent the Macedonians from getting close, qualifying for the final anew.[16]

France

The French opened EuroBasket 2011 trailing 41–40 at halftime against

Dusko Savanovic three-pointer was short, to give France the victory.[21]

The

Turks trailed in their opening game of the second round against the French 61–48 with 6:33 remaining in the game when they made a 13–2 run, ended by an Ersan İlyasova three-point play to cut the lead to two with 45 seconds left. Parker scored on two free-throws to bring the French lead to four with 18 seconds left when Emir Preldžić made an off-balanced three-pointer to cut the deficit to one, with eight seconds left. The Turks fouled Parker with five seconds left, who made both free-throws. Preldzic, off a Turkish time out, was called for a five-second violation, sealing the game for the French.[22] The French next faced the hosts Lithuania, whom they led at the half by nine points. The Lithuanians then had a 12–2 run at the final six minutes of the third quarter to cut the lead to three. Nando de Colo scored on a three-pointer to give France the two-point lead, and free-throws two minutes later were enough to keep the hosts from retaking the lead.[23] The French suffered their first humiliating defeat of the championship when they were beaten by Spain, 96–69. Noah and Parker sat out in the game; French coach Vincent Collet justified their absences, saying that Noah was advised to sit out due to an issue with his calf, and Parker who was tired from the last couple of games.[24]

Facing the

Antonios Fotsis. The French had a 10–2 run the at rest of the quarter to limit the lead to a single possession. The Greeks extended their lead back to seven, but France tied the game with seven unanswered points. Noah, who had missed his first six attempts, dunked to give France a four-point lead. The Greeks retook the lead at the end of the half, with Ioannis Bourousis getting his own dunk to post a halftime score of 39–32. The French erected a deciding 16–5 run, but while Greece was able to cut the lead to two with two minutes left, the French were able to hold off Greece to score a semifinal appearance.[25]

The French next faced an undefeated

2007 final, although Andrei Kirilenko led a Russian run to cut the lead to four, but it wasn't enough as Parker and Batum scored on clutch shots at the final minutes. The win clinched France's first appearance in the EuroBasket final[26]

References

  1. ^ "Spain tops France for title". ESPN. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Spain tops France to win European Basketball Championship". USA Today. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Navarro, NBA stars help Spain defeat France, win EuroBasket title". CBS Sports. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  4. ^ a b Nilsen, Paul (2011-09-18). "Spain Retains European Crown". FIBA. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  5. ^ Starcevic, Nesha (2011-09-18). "Spain beats France to win European Championship". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  6. ^ "Spain's prime minister welcomes Spanish basketball team as 'legends' after winning Euro crown". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 2011-09-19. Archived from the original on 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  7. ^ "Defending Champions Spain Edge Poland". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-08-31.
  8. ^ "Spain Stay On A Roll". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-01.
  9. ^ "Spain Stay Perfect Against GB". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-02.
  10. ^ "Impressive Spain Thrash Hosts Lithuania". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-04.
  11. ^ "Turkey Shut Down Spain in Final Frame". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-04.
  12. ^ "Spain Hold On To Beat Germany". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-07.
  13. ^ "Spain Clinch Quarter-Final Spot In Style". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-09.
  14. ^ "Spain Blow Out France, Clinch Top Spot". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-11.
  15. ^ "Spain Move Through Gears To Reach Semis". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-14.
  16. ^ "Navarro Propels Spain To Another Final". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-16.
  17. ^ "Latvia In Full Blums But France Prevail". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  18. ^ "Israel Suffer A Le Bleu-Out". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  19. ^ "Parker Shines Again As France Roll". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  20. ^ "France Advance With Win Over Italy". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  21. ^ "France Advance With Win Over Italy". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  22. ^ "France Stay Perfect Against Turkey". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  23. ^ "France Stay Perfect Against Turkey". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  24. ^ "Spain Blow Out France, Clinch Top Spot". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  25. ^ "Late Flourish Fires France Into Semis". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  26. ^ "Les Bleus Write History To Reach Final". EuroBasket2011.com. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-09-20.