Spain loses to Canada and is eliminated from the World Cup

Scariolo's pupils do not reach the quarterfinals after conceding a painful 85-88, which Abrines was able to avoid with a three-pointer at the buzzer

MADRID, 3 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish basketball team lost this Sunday by a painful 85-88 against Canada, within Group L, and was eliminated before the quarterfinals in the men's World Championship, which is being played in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

The 25 points of center Willy Hernangómez and the 20 points of power forward Santi Aldama did not avoid defeat at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta, where a triple by his teammate Álex Abrines at the buzzer was about to achieve the miracle to force overtime .

But the ball caught on that swaying pitch that had been seen throughout the game, with alternations in the electronics of a pavilion where some 12,500 spectators witnessed a life-and-death duel. The carambola of results in that Group L meant that only the winner would get a ticket for the qualifying matches.

And that's how both teams interpreted it, whose hostilities began with a dunk from Willy Hernangómez for Spain. The initial exchange of hits on the hoop prevented anyone from getting unstuck, until two baskets by Willy himself and some free throws by Víctor Claver in the middle made it 16-10.

On the Canadian side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was already beginning to carburise. But the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard was relatively controlled and his team's counterattacks were muted, so Sergio Scariolo's charges had to start looking at the effervescence of forward RJ Barrett.

Closing the defensive rebound well, but missing a couple of key offensives, Spain faltered in a first quarter where Canada's comeback (from 16-10 to 18-21) was cut short with a three-pointer by Alberto Díaz that ran out the 10th minute of the stopwatch (21-21). Facing the next period, Santi Aldama from the Canary Islands entered the scene, with a triple that set the pace for his deployment on both sides of the court.

The referees called Barrett the third personal foul in the 16th minute, with the score at 33-33, and his teammate Dillon Brooks immediately committed an unsportsmanlike foul. Two free throws for Willy were added to a triple by Abrines in the same action (38-33), spurring the rest of the Spanish team to pull away and enjoy a 48-38 lead at halftime.

However, that inspiration vanished in the locker room. Four fouls were amalgamated to Scariolo's team in just one minute, along with two technical fouls that were also rinsed with the scoring mistake. Thus, a 4-18 run put Jordi Fernández's team up 52-55 (min. 26).

Spain took out arrests to dream again, thanks to a vital triple from guard Rudy Fernández and taking advantage of Aldama's skill from a distance. Adding the flashes of Darío Brizuela and the great ensemble defense, the accumulated score of 21-6 placed Spain with its maximum advantage (73-61). The epic was on the horizon, but the gunpowder dried up suddenly.

In this sense, the 12-27 score in the fourth period condemned the Spanish team, which mismanaged two of its last possessions. Canada did not waste both gifts, making free throws that stabbed their opponent's aspirations like daggers. Despite everything, the very last possession could have changed the story, as Abrines got up almost from midfield to execute a triple... which bounced and went wide.

DATASHEET.

--RESULT: SPAIN, 85 - CANADA, 88 (48-38 at halftime).

--EQUIPMENT.

SPAIN: Núñez (4), Abrines (11), Claver (3), J.Hernangómez (4) and W.Hernangómez (25) --initial quintet--; Díaz (3), Aldama (20), Brizuela (8), Rudy Fernández (3), Garuba (4) and Llull (-).

CANADA: Gilgeous-Alexander (30), Brooks (22), Barrett (16), Olynyk (6) and Powell (6) --starting quintet-- K.Alexander (-), Dort (3), Alexander-Walker ( 5), Bell-Haynes (-) and Ejim (-).

--PARTIALS: 21-21, 27-17, 25-23 and 12-27.

--REFEREES: Julio Anaya (PAN), Juan Fernández (ARG) and Andrés Bartel (URU). They eliminated RJ Barrett for personal fouls in Canada.

--HALL: Indonesia Arena, 12,493 spectators.