Spain's adventure in the World Cup ended in Jakarta, a tournament in which it will not be able to defend the scepter so brilliantly achieved in China four years ago after not getting into the crossroads for the first time since 1994. His was a bitter goodbye, one of those that leaves you with the feeling of having been able to climb much higher and forces you to reflect coldly. Because the side of the scale in which you accumulate positive things is crowded but the other, emptier, weighs much more.
The second phase that Spain completed is one of those to have nightmares. Three excellent quarters against Latvia and ten very bad minutes drew the first defeat. Three wonderful quarters against Canada and a terrible last one drew the second and goodbye to the World Cup. The same mistakes, too many, to aspire to continue reaping feats.
The elimination has rough edges for Spain beyond the Indonesian borders. Scariolo's team already has an impossible finish between the two best European teams in the World Cup, which guaranteed him a place in the Paris Games next summer. Now, the last option to obtain the Olympic ticket is through the pre-Olympic that will be held from July 2 to 7 and in which six teams will compete for a place. It will be a tremendous fight.
The blame for all this must be placed on the debt of Spain, capable of minimizing a power like Canada, one of the favorites for the title sprinkled with NBA players, and throwing away all that wonderful work in a horrendous last quarter. (12-27), in which obvious problems in the creation of the game and a clear mental block were mixed. Although the accent should be placed on the defeat against Latvia, when a magnificent opportunity to access the quarterfinals was wasted, Spain created a new option to get behind to fight for the medals and there was no way to grab it.
The painful defeat against Latvia did not make Scariolo lose temper, who was able to rally his troops and restore their morale. The solution to his problems was to defend much better, especially taking into account the Canadian arsenal, and so it was applied. Shail Gilgeous-Alexander, included in the best five in the NBA this season and the main offensive threat, spent the first seven minutes without even shooting a basket thanks to the work and grace of Álex Abrines. The Mallorcan was a limpet and only personal faults kept him from his work. Without him, the Canadian began to appear, picking up Willy Hernangómez's glove, the best argument of the Spanish attack.
After an even first quarter, Spain began to escape in second, when Aldama made his appearance in the game and Brizuela finished with the 48-38 headed for the locker room. Jordi Fernández, the Canadian coach with a Spanish accent, was not seen to lose his temper at any time, who trusted the talent he had sitting in front of him.
An overwhelming start to the second half by Canada turned the score around but Spain rallied and was even able to widen their differences (73-61) with a quarter to play. The same scenario as against Latvia and, sadly, with the same outcome. An initial 0-8 for Canada the ghosts surfaced in about ten minutes in which Spain was only able to score two baskets in play and in which Alexander did not miss from the free kick to ensure the victory. The hoop spat out Abrines' last desperate triple and certified the debacle... déjà-vu included.
85. Spain (21 27 25 12): Willy Hernangómez (25), Victor Claver (3), Juan Núñez (4), Juancho Hernangómez (4), Álex Abrines (11) - initial team - Rudy Fernández (3), Alberto Díaz (3), Santi Aldama (20), Darío Brizuela (8), Usman Garuba (4), Sergio Llull (0).
88. Canadá (21 17 23 27): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30), Rj Barret (16), Kelly Olynyk (6), Dillon Brooks (22), Dwight Powell (6) -equipo inicial-, Luguentz Dort (3), Kyle Alexander (0), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (5), Melvin Ejim (0), Trae Bell-Haynes (0).
Referees: Julio Anaya (Panama), Juan Fernández (Argentina), Jenna Jordan Reneau (United States).
Incidents: match corresponding to the second day of the second phase of the 2023 World Cup played at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta (Indonesia).
