EuroBasket Semi Finals are done

The 2009 EuroBasket Semi Finals were two contrasting games with Spain dropping Greece 82-64 and Serbia barely escaping against Slovenia 96-92 in an overtime thriller. Spain's sudden return to form continued after early round uncertainty. Here are the match recaps from http://www.eurobasket2009.org.

Spain/Greece report:

Spain Knock Out Greece

Game Summary

Turning point: Following a series of missed shots by the Greeks, Rudy Fernandez hit a transition catch-and-shoot three-pointer that set the gap at 16, 58-42. That shot put Spain out of reach.

Hero: Carlos Cabezas didn't enjoy big playing time in the Championship. In two crucial games - against Turkey and the quarters versus France - he didn't even step on the floor. When he did all he delivered was two points in the entire competition. Today he came off the bench already in the first quarter to help with the aggressive defense on Vassilis Spanoulis and Nikos Zisis, but added a great job on the offensive end as well. He wrote eight points, without missing a shot, and added four assists. Both are his best numbers in the championship, right at the right time, and all played a key role in the Spanish run.

Stats: Greece earned 34 second-chance points, more than half of their total, against only eight by Spain, yet still lost by 18

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One finalist is already set at EuroBasket 2009 after Spain dominated Greece 82-64 in a one sided Semi-Final on Saturday in Katowice.

This is the first time in history the Spanish team reach the finals twice in a row, and it bestows on them a chance, once again, to bring the first ever European gold medal to Spain.

Ioannis Bourousis was the top scorer for Greece with 11 points.

They will face in the trophy match the winner between Slovenia and Serbia - two teams that have already played them in the Preliminary Round.

"We are one step closer to our goal, but now we have to rest for tomorrow so we'll have enough energy to achieve our goal," said Marc Gasol who scored six points tonight.

Greece will face the loser of the second semi-finals in the bronze medal game.

This is the same scenario for the Greeks as well after losing to Spain two years ago in the exact same stage.

One thing was different this time - the ease of the Spanish win.

While in 2007 Spain edged Greece by five points, today it was clear early in the game which team was better.

The gang of Coach Sergio Scariolo took a 13 point lead in the second quarter and never looked back.

Greece fought back but never put that margin in danger.

When Rudy Fernandez hit a three-pointer mid-way in the third to set the gap on 16, it marked a new phase in the game, in which Spain displayed their dominance.

The gap reached a high point of 23 in the last quarter, when both teams knew already their destiny for Sunday night.

More than half of the Greek points tonight were written thanks to second chance points.

A EuroBasket high of 24 offensive rebounds were worth 34 second shots in favor of Greece, against only eight of Spain.

Despite that Spain's dominance wasn't questioned.

"Spain are probably the best team in the tournament," said Ioannis Kalampokis of Greece.

"In the first half we allowed them too many easy baskets, and it cost us later on in the game," he added.

Pau Gasol was the top scorer for Spain with 18 points on 75% shooting, half of them in the first quarter.

He enjoyed the help of Rudy Fernandez with 14.

Both of them were resting the entire fourth quarter.

Greece saw big guy Ioannis Bourousis collect 11 points and seven rebounds, though he only shot 33% from the field.

Young Nick Calathes added ten points off the bench.

Nikos Zisis and Vasilis Spanoulis were limited under the big pressure of the Spanish guards and combined only 13 points.

"We put pressure on Greece and we got a lot of steals that allowed us to take a comfortable margin," said Jorge Garbajosa of Spain referring to the 11-20 difference in favor of Spain in the turnovers.

"The defense on Spanoulis was really important," said Coach Scariolo, after forcing the Greek guard to commit six turnovers tonight.

"It was Cabezas who helped Ricky Rubio in that task," he complimented the back up point guard who came off the bench to deliver not only a great defensive job but two tournament highs in eight points without a miss and four assists.

The first minutes marked the difference between the stars and the rest on both ends.

Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy and Pau Gasol scored for Spain while on the Greek side it was a star trio of Spanoulis,

Carlos Cabezas has not had a big tournament, but he played some key minutes for Spain on Saturday night.

Zisis and Bourousis to make it a 12-11 Spain advantage.

The Spanish were the first to make a run deep in the first half after Pau Gasol scored in transition.

Cabezas hit his first three-pointer at this EuroBasket, but Spanoulis saved his team with a steal right before the buzzer to write easy points and be just five points behind, 26-21, after ten minutes.

Greece missed open shots and Navarro showed how to get it done to set the gap on ten after Spain scored five in row.

Spain gathered points from the bench to maintain a safe double-digit lead and got a boost when the Greek big got in foul trouble.

Bourousis earned his third personal foul with a technical, but Fotsis stepped up under the offensive glass and added a three-pointer, to force a Spanish time-out just eight points away, 40-32 after 17 minutes.

Schortsanitis, with power moves in the paint, exposed Spain's problem on the defensive boards to keep the gap at seven, 47-40, before Rudy with another big lay up set the half time difference on nine.

Greece grabbed 13 offensive boards in the first half, which matched the exact same amount of total rebounds for Spain.

The outcome was an 18-6 lead in second chance points, which still was enough only to be nine points behind.

Navarro's three ball went in and out to leave the gap on 13, but when Greece missed chance after chance to cut the gap, Rudy took over with a transition catch and shoot three-pointer to make it 58-42 inside the 25^th minute.

From that point on it was a one-sided Spanish fiesta.

"Our defense once again has been the one that we have been working on getting to," concluded Coach Scariolo.

"It's has been the main key that we are in the position to win the gold."

40 more minutes of such defense will make it very difficult for either Serbia or Slovenia to hold Spain from winning a historical gold medal.

19 September 2009 Quotes Spain vs. Greece Sergio Scariolo (Spain Coach): "We are very satisfied with this win, our defense was once again working the way we were preparing it for last few weeks. With the better physical shape of players we have the energy and effort this defense requires to work. I have now 12 players ready to play and all of them can be involved in our rotation." Pau Gasol (Spain): "I am very happy about today's victory. We played very well as a team. We did not start the tournament well. We were not focused enough. Fortunately our form picked up with every game." Jonas Kazlauskas (Greece Coach): "Congratulations to Spain, they were A better team than us. Today we had too many turnovers, also our ball movement wasn't good enough. We had a very tough game last night, with an overtime, now we have to concentrate on tomorrow's match." Ioannis Kalampokis (Greece): "It was A fair win by Spain, in the last 3-4 games they are the best team of this tournament. We tried our best, but early in the match we gave them fast break opportunities and allowed them to score easy points. It was hard to recover once they took a lead. Tomorrow's game is also very important and we will try to win bronze medal."

Serbia/Slovenia Wrap up:

Serbia Top Slovenia In Epic Semi

Game Summary

Turning Point: Leading 79-76, Slovenia did not foul Serbia to prevent a three-pointer and the decision backfired as Milos Teodosic buried a shot from behind the arc to tie the game at 79-79. Laka Lakovic then missed a lay-up that would have won the game in regulation, Serbia won in overtime.

Heroes: Serbia's Milos Teodosic poured in eight of his game-high 32 points in overtime to guide his team victory.
He finished 10 of 13 (77%) from the charity stripe and six of 10 from behind the arc.

Key Stats: Serbia outrebounded Slovenia 39-35.

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Milos Teodosic exploded for 32 points as Serbia edged Slovenia 96-92 in overtime on Saturday night to reach the EuroBasket Final.

Dusan Ivkovic's men will take on Spain in Sunday's gold-medal game, a team they beat in their Group C Preliminary Round opener in Warsaw.

Milos Teodosic hit the game-tying three at the end of regulation, and would not be denied in the extra period.

Teodosic, whose three-pointer knotted the contest at 79-79 late in regulation to force the extra period, then poured in eight of his game-high in points in the final five minutes to guide his team to victory.

He finished 10 of 13 (77%) from the charity stripe and six of 10 from behind the arc.

"Milos Teodosic is one of the best point guards in Europe," said Serbia forward Novica Velickovic.

"What he did today was unbelievable. I'm so happy for him.

"This is a great thing for Serbian basketball and this new generation.

"We are a young team, we can't be tired, and tomorrow in the finals we'll give everything."

Serbia have been remarkable.

After a disappointing show at EuroBasket 2007 in Spain, where they lost all three games, Ivkovic was handed the reins and set about building a team with youth and one that would be competitive for years to come.

The aim of Serbia was to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship but now they will leave with at least a silver medal and maybe gold if they can beat the world champions again.

Slovenia, who got a brilliant 25-point performance from Erazem Lorbek before the big man fouled out in the fourth quarter, still led 79-76 with 35 seconds to play after Jaka Lakovic made one of two free-throws.

Instead of fouling and not allowing Serbia to attempt a three-pointer, Slovenia allowed the red-hot Teodosic to free himself for a three-ball and he connected to tie the game at 79-79.

Lakovic had a chance to win with a drive but he missed and the game went to overtime.

Once in the extra period, Serbia got two quick baskets from Nenad Krstic to take the lead for good.

Lorbek fouling out with 4:29 to go in the fourth quarter was a blow for Slovenia.

In addition to his scoring, he had pulled down 10 rebounds and come up with three steals.

"When my brother fouled out that really hurt our play," said Slovenia's Domen Lorbek, who finished with 22 points.
"We didn't go inside anymore.

"Teodosic hurt us with his pick-and-roll and some big three-pointers."

Lakovic's three-ball allowed Slovenia to cut the deficit 92-91 with 12 seconds remaining in overtime but forced to foul

Erazem Lorbek put in another MVP performance, before foulding out late in the fourth.

to stop the clock, Jure Zdovc's team put Teodosic on the line and he made no mistake as he scored his last four points to seal the win.

"Teodosic was the key player of this game," Zdovc said.

"We made stupid mistakes and he punished us.

"I have to congratulate him for his great performance."

Ivkovic was full of praise for his team, who trailed 52-41 midway through the third quarter, scored eight unanswered points as part of a 20-5 run to take a 62-58 lead early in the fourth quarter.

"Our defense in the second half was really great and I think we deserve this victory," he said.

"But Slovenia really played great the whole competition."

Slovenia must now beat Greece - losers to Spain in the first Semi-Final - in the bronze-medal game on Sunday.

Serbia will have little time to recover before they take on Spain for the second time in the tournament.

Serbia out-rebounded Slovenia 39-35.

Krstic and Kosta Perovic poured in 18 points apiece.

20 September 2009 Quotes Serbia vs. Slovenia Dusan Ivkovic (Serbia Coach): "It was a great game and I think it was a very good game for basketball. I want to congratulate my players, as well as the Slovenian team and coach Zdovc. At half time I've said to my players that we allowed opponents to score too many stupid points, for example making many unnecessary fouls. Our defense was really great in the second half. Now we have to rest and prepare for the final, we have young team and I also rotated them during tournament, so I think we will be well prepared." Ivan Paunic (Serbia): "It was a great game for us. Before the tournament nobody expected us to make it to the final. I think we deserved to win this game, but also Slovenia is a very good team and they deserve to win a medal too. They were much better than us in the first game, but we corrected our mistakes and it's one of the reasons for our win tonight. We don't want to stop now and we will fight until the end, to win a gold medal." Jure Zdovc (Slovenia Coach): "Congratulations to the Serbian team and coach Ivkovic for this win. I also want to congratulate my players for the maximum effort they put into the game tonight. I was afraid that one day our winning will stop and unfortunately it happened today. But we will remain focused and we will do everything to win tomorrow's match." Domen Lorbek (Slovenia): "It was a very tough match, but it was very hard for us, to play the next day after a great win against Croatia. We had our chances to win, especially at the end of fourth quarter. When my brother fouled out we lost our low post game and it was a big problem for us."