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How France Advanced: Tony Parker and Clutch D (Video)

BASKET-EURO-2013-SRB-FRA

Tony Parker (R) of France vies with Nemanja Nedovic of Serbia during the FIBA European basketball championship second round match between Serbia and France in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on September 15, 2013. AFP PHOTO / JURE MAKOVEC (Photo credit should read Jure Makovec/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

In the EuroBasket semi-finals, France was finally able to conquer Spain in overtime, thanks in large part to Tony Parker’s big 32-point performance. Parker is just one of many NBA players racking up big minutes this summer, but when you watch these games, you begin to understand how important it is to these guys to represent their home country.

While Parker deserves a great deal of the credit for France advancing to the championship game tomorrow against a surprising Lithuania squad led by Toronto Raptors big man Jonas Valanciunas, check out how well France defended Spain’s last possession. That’s what you call suffocating defense.

We’ll see if Parker and France can keep it tomorrow in the final game of the 2013 EuroBasket tournament.