For the 11th straight Eurobasket tournament, Spain - the defending champions - will play in the semifinals after defeating Finland 100-90 on Tuesday.
Willy Hernangomez finished the contest with 27 points, five rebounds and a block while shooting 10-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. His team edged out a Finland squad led by Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen who had a game to remember. Markkanen scored a game-high 28 points and added 11 boards, three dimes, two steals and two triples.
Lauri Markkanen 🆚 Willy Hernangomez
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 13, 2022
Battle of North and South was 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐑 ⚔️#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/RuAFEIbGaD
Finland started the game hot, jumping out to an early 30-19 lead. The Finnish squad led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Spain’s veterans kept their composure and chipped away at the lead to cut it to 52-43 at the half.
After the break, it was Spain’s turn to get hot. The Spanish team opened the second half with a 14-5 run, with Willy accounting for 10 points and treating the fans to multiple dunks in the process.
...and he was up in the air quite a lot 💥#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/IHqqUO8k2f
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 13, 2022
That run tied the game at 57 before a Joel Parra three-pointer put Spain up 60-57 - a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Finland came as close as 84-80 with just under five minutes remaining, but Spain kept its poise and delivered a trio of threes in the final minutes to go up by as many as 11 on the way to an unprecedented 11th straight trip to the Eurobasket semifinals.
The road to the Eurobasket Final and a back-to-back championship won’t be easy for Spain, with either Germany or Greece waiting for them in the semis. Germany is led by a pair of NBA players in Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner, while Greece features two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers.
You know you're in trouble when this happens:#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/5HVgJhGAwh
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 13, 2022
For Spain, Willy’s brother Juancho Hernangomez had 15 points and four boards and Rockets’ second-year man Usman Garuba notched seven points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in just 16 minutes. For Finland, Mikael Jantunen scored 18, Alexander Madsen had 13 and Sasu Salin added 13.
Despite the loss, Markkanen ends the tournament on a high note. In five games, he averaged 23.0 points and 9.4 boards, both of which ranked among the top-five at Eurobasket. Markkanen’s fantasy value jumped significantly when he was traded from Cleveland to Utah as part of the Donovan Mitchell deal, but will his impressive Eurobasket performance boost his stock even more?
The fact that Lauri Markkanen will be drafted a round or two early B/C he balled out in a few games for Finland is pretty fun.
— Dr. A (@docktora) September 13, 2022