GB Fall to Spain, Eurobasket Day 3

Despite a hanging around in the first half,Great Britain were dominated by Spain in the second, as they fell 86-69 on Friday afternoon in Lithuania at Eurobasket 2011.

Defending champions Spain remain undefeated in the tournament, whilst GB fell to 0-3, putting their game against Portugal on Sunday as a must-win if they are to retain any chance of advancing to the second round. Spain’s Gasol brothers dominated, combining for 39 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists.

Reflecting on the game, Head coach Chris Finch felt the team needed to go inside more:

“It was a better performance than yesterday, and much more like our display against Lithuania. We just had a hard time sustaining it again. One of our strengths is inside and we have to be more determined in that area.

“All credit to Spain, they were very good tonight and they took advantage of the inside game in the second half. I’m disappointed in how we responded to that – they also picked up the defensive intensity in the second half and we couldn’t get our rhythm back.”

Luol Deng once again led from the front with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Dan Clark added a 14 point-12 rebound double double, whilst Reinking and Johnson had 9 and 8 points respectively. Ogo Adegboye made the most of his 7 minutes, to finish with 8 points. Devon Van Oostrum struggled from the field to remain scoreless but had 6 assists.

Box score, play by play and statistics available here.

Check out what Nate Reinking and Dan Clark had to say after the game:

Other Results in Group A

Poland 81 – 73 Portugal
Poland took care of business against Portugal to get their first victory of the 2011 Eurobasket. Lucasz Koszarek had 18 points for Poland, with Dardan Berisha adding 16. Antonio Tavares and Jose Costa led Portugal with 16 each. Box score, play by play and stats available here.

Lithuania 75 – 68 Turkey
Host-nation Lithuania remained undefeated as they sneaked out a seven point victory over Turkey with what was said to be overwhelming support from the crowd. A balanced team effort for Lithuania was led by Darius Songaila’s 12 points. Ersan Ilyasova had 20 to lead Turkey. Box score, play by play and stats available here.

Standings in Group A after Day 2

1. Spain 3/0
2. Lithuania 3/0
3.  Turkey 2/1
4. Poland 1/2
5. Portugal 0/3
6. Great Britain 0/3

Notes

• GB starters: Mike Lenzly, Nate Reinking, Luol Deng, Dan Clark, Joel Freeland
• Robert Archibald was once again not present, watching the game from his hotel room after suffering from migraines. It is hoped he will join the team for Sunday’s game against Portugal.
• Luol Deng had a message for GB fans after the game, tweeting: “Losing hurts but it will never break my spirit or my belief. We will get there I promise.”

Did you watch the game? Thoughts?

Image Credit: Mansoor Ahmed/Mansoor Ahmed Photography