Eurobasket Semi-Finals Roundup
Spain and France booked their places in the final with solid wins in their semi-finals. Here are my top stories from yesterday…
Pau Gasol – This tournament for the Lakers big man has been all about showing that he’s not going to continue going missing in big games. He led the team with 22 points and 17 rebounds to dominate on both ends of the floor. Let’s see how Noah controls him in the final.
Juan Carlos Navarro – The Spanish guard once again came up trumps yesterday finishing with 35 points in 36 minutes to propel his team into the final. This caps a great week for the Barcelona player and it’ll be interesting to see how he does against Tony Parker in the final.
Bo McCalebb – Once again the Macedonia guard makes it into these articles with 25 points and 5 assists as he continues to add to his growing reputation. McCalebb has had a fantastic tournament and has become almost an overnight household name amongst basketball fans.
Nicholas Batum – The France and Portland Trail Blazers forward scored 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists to help push his team past Russia. Batum has long been touted as a player with great potential and this performance showed a glimpse of it.
Tony Parker – The tournament MVP – in my opinion – was once again at the crux of the French play finishing with 22 points and controlling the play at the point. He’ll come up against Navarro in the final which should be a fascinating contest.
The final – So the two teams with the most NBA players made it to the final. Is anybody really surprised? For me the winners will be Spain who have just too much strength in depth for the French; particularly in the big man stakes. The Gasol brothers are too much for any team and Serge Ibaka off the bench will provide Noah with a different type of problem. Whoever wins, it should be a great game.
(posted from my phone so excuse any inaccuracies//typos)
