Spain win Eurobasket after finals win over France
Juancho's brother Willy, who was named the tournament's MVP, joined with 14 points. Lorenzo Brown also had 14 points and recorded a double-double with 11 assists. Thirty-seven-year-old Rudy Fernández celebrated his fourth European title. The Spaniards won their seventh consecutive medal at the European Championship, replacing the Slovenians on the throne.
The French erased a twenty-one-point deficit at the turn of the second and third quarters and closed to within three points, but then their opponents pulled away again.
The Spaniards relied on careful defense from the start and took a nine-point lead in the first quarter. In the second half, Juancho Hernangómez was fired up and his four consecutive threes gave the reigning world champions a 35-16 lead. He scored another 10 points.
The Olympic silver medallists, France, returned to the game late in the first half after a series of timeouts. Eleven consecutive points reduced the score from 26:47 to 37:47. Fournier in particular led the way with 11 points.
Coach Vincent Collet's team did not let up after the break and after another nine points they came close to a three-point difference (49:46). The Spaniards took a timeout and returned to the winning streak in a game full of ups and downs. After a series of nine points, they worked their way back to a double-digit lead.
Although the French tried to make it more dramatic in the final period, the Spanish continued to keep the lead around the ten-point mark. Les Bleus also suffered 19 turnovers, while the Spaniards had nine.
