Spain to meet France in the EuroBasket semi-finals

The situation from two years ago shall repeat on Thursday (early Friday in Australia), when France clash against 2012 Olympic silver medallist Spain for a spot in the EuroBasket finals.

The Spaniards aren’t the same NBA concentrated team of the previous Olympics, with its entire strength coming solely from 35-year-old Pau Gasol from teh Chicago Bulls. Popular NBA names such as Jose Calderon (New York Knicks), Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City Thunder) aren’t available on the current team.

The French console seems to be stocking up on the NBA crème de crop, with star attractions like Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) and Nicolas Batum (Charlotte Hornets) on its roster. France is also one among the only two undefeated teams in the EuroBasket, the other being Serbia.

The match has received additional coverage with an Olympics spot at stake, as the teams qualifying for the finals will reserve a berth for Rio. Spain beat Greece on Tuesday, 73-71. France, on the other hand, left Latvia behind with a clear 84-70 win in its quarter-final game.

Tony Parker starred in the French victory with 18 points while Gasol sealed Spain’s win with 27 points. The game against Greece helped Gasol retain the position of the highest scorer in the tournament so far.

It is to be remembered that France snatched the title in the EuroBasket tournament held two years ago in Slovenia, where it beat Spain in the semi-finals and Lithuania in the finals. Spain, which has never finished below fourth in the last eight successive EuroBasket tournaments, will look to reclaim its glory of 2011 with a decisive win on Thursday.

The semi-finals will mark the seventh successive time France and Spain will showdown in a tournament.

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