Since EuroBasket 2015 began last weekend, we've kept a close eye on Poland, because Wizards center Marcin Gortat is one of the cornerstones of their team. Even though they had a good performance in group play, their run came to an end Saturday as Spain won, 80-66.
Despite the score margin, Poland actually played Spain very well. In fact, they were leading 65-62 late in the third quarter, but Nikola Mirotic had a successful and-one play which sparked a big run in the final ten minutes.
Bulls big man Pau Gasol was the catalyst for the Spanish in the game when he scored 30 points on 11 of 14 shooting. And get this. He made six of seven threes as well, which is absurd, considering that his shot chart last season didn't indicate that he was a stretch-four by any stretch of the imagination:
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Marcin Gortat scored 9 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in the loss, and this wasn't his best performance. Damian Kulig led Poland with 10 points.
It's disappointing to see that Poland lost in the first round of the knockout stage. However, they also faced the second-ranked team in the world, so the loss shouldn't be a shocker either.
Other games on Saturday
- Latvia beat Slovenia, 73-66
- Greece beat Belgium, 75-54
- France beat Turkey, 76-53