Spain falls to the world champions in extra time in a nail-biting friendly at the Movistar Arena.
MADRID, 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Spanish men's basketball team lost 105-106 to the German national team on Thursday in their fifth Eurobasket warm-up game. This time in a very close match, Spain came from behind to force an overtime that ended in agony with a buzzer-beating foul by Darío Brizuela.
Sergio Scariolo's team once again showed that they can never be doubted, in a match against a team that arrived at the Movistar Arena as world champions and fourth in the Olympic Games, with players of immense quality, such as Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner, who made the small difference in the final score.
The team coached by Spaniard Álex Mumbrú was ahead almost throughout, but the home team never let go and closed the gap with determination. Led by a dedicated stadium, they tied the game and even took the lead in overtime, although it was the Sacramento Kings player who had the final say despite Willy Hernangómez being on top.
The match began with several errors from both teams, although Juancho Hernangómez took advantage of one of these mistakes to score Spain's first points, which Germany quickly responded to. Mumbrú's team quickly took the lead (7-15), thanks to the good work of Isaac Bonga and Franz Wagner, to which Scariolo responded by stopping the game.
That timeout suited Spain, who made a run to tie the game. From there, a back-and-forth exchange of blows ensued, with Spain taking the lead (24-22) thanks to Jaime Pradilla (8 points), Santi Yusta, and Darío Brizuela, each with 5 points. It was a three-pointer from the Barcelona guard just before the buzzer that gave Spain a 24-22 lead at halftime.
The second quarter began with minutes for Lucas Langarita and Yankuba Sima, which the world champion team took advantage of to make it 2-11 and open a gap on the scoreboard that Spain tried to close, but was penalized for the error.
While Wagner and a brilliant Schröder continued to score for Germany, Spain held on to the game thanks to Aldama, Willy, Yusta, and Sergio de Larrea. The exchange of baskets benefited Germany, which had more quality on the court and ended up taking a 7-point lead at halftime (38-45).
Among Scariolo's first-half attempts, the rotation of point guards stood out, with De Larrea alternating minutes with Álvaro Cárdenas in the first quarter and Brizuela (3 assists at halftime) taking control of the team in the second. He also tried a small starting five, with Aldama and Pradilla in a rotation without centers.
At the start of the second half, Germany continued to inflict damage with three-pointers and drives that continually drove the Germans to the free-throw line. Despite the 16-29 shooting gap from the free-throw line midway through the third quarter, Spain remained in control thanks to points from Brizuela, Pradilla, and Aldama.
The visitors' quality, with Wagner and Schröder outstanding, led Spain to suffer more than they should have in their own half, to the point that by the end of the third quarter, the home team had conceded almost as many points as they had in the entire previous match against France. However, Spain asserted their composure at the end of the quarter to go four points down with a great Willy (72-76), having skyrocketed their scoring.
In the final period, Thiemann and Schröder began scoring, with Puerto sinking three-pointers, in an exchange that benefited the world champions. Álvaro Cárdenas returned to the court with a score, and Xabi López-Arostegui did the same with a three-pointer to keep Spain in the game.
The Movistar Arena began to roar, and Spain believed, with another basket from Cárdenas and a three-pointer from Aldama bringing Scariolo's team within two points (85-87 midway through the fourth quarter). The tension was beginning to be felt on the court, with several clashes making it clear that, despite it being a friendly, no one was taking it as such.
Even though the world champions kept adding points, the European champions, with a Parra three-pointer, kept the crowd believing, and a layup by De Larrea after a good post-up by Willy brought the national team within a single point. After this, a play with as many as three missed three-pointers by Germany ended with Schröder himself adding points from the perimeter, with Scariolo's team unable to close out the rebound.
Spain continued to believe with a deafening roar from the Real Madrid arena and tied the game at 94 after baskets by Parra and Willy, sending the game into overtime after several missed attacks by both teams due to the pressure of the remaining time in the game.
A three-pointer from Obst and a basket from Wagner, followed by a three-pointer from Brizuela, opened overtime, while Bonga, who hadn't scored since the first quarter, added two more points for Germany. The German team continued to miss from the 6.75-meter line, and Parra again put Spain within striking distance, a shot taken by Barcelona's guard, the Basque "Mamba," to put Scariolo's team ahead (103-102).
Schröder's free kick put Mumbrú's team back in front, and Spain's captain, Willy, responded with two more free kicks. On the next play, Germany's most prominent player responded with a masterful finger roll on the backboard, and Brizuela was unable to respond, missing his shot after a reverse with just seconds left on the clock, sealing the German victory.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–RESULT: SPAIN, 105 – GERMANY, 106 (38-45, at halftime).
–TEAMS.
SPAIN: De Larrea (6), Yusta (8), Parra (11), J. Hernangómez (4) and W. Hernangómez (15) –starting five–; Langarita (-), Puerto (8), Pradilla (12), López-Arostegui (6), Aldama (9), Brizuela (22), Cárdenas (4) and Sima (-).
GERMANY: Schröder (26), Obst (10), Wagner (19), Theis (8), Voigtmann (11) – starting quintet – T. Da Silva (6), Thiemann (12), Lo (2), O. Da Silva (2), Hollatz (-), Kratzer (-), Bonga (10) and Weidemann (-).
–PARTIALS: 24-22, 14-23, 34-31, 22-18 and 11-12
–REFEREES: Conde, Calatrava, and Lucas. Joel Parra was sent off for personal fouls.
–PAVILION: Movistar Arena.
