76-72 | Perfect finish to beat Argentina in Guadalajara

Ousmane Garuba played his first international match in his native Guadalajara. Willy became a long-lived player and entered the select club of players who have played more than 100 matches for the national team… Rudy Fernandez and Lorenzo Brown were on the tape, but did not take to the court. And almost 4,500 spectators who filled the Multiusos de Guadalajara enjoyed the Spain-Argentina match with all the advantages of a great match.

Argentina opened the game with a 2+1 from Laprovittola, but Spain’s exit was impressive. With a quintet of Llull, Abrines, Lopez-Arostegui, Aldama and Willy Hernangomez, Sergio Scariolo’s men quickly took a 15-6 lead, with Santi Aldama doing damage with his mobility. The Americans responded, but the atmosphere in Guadalajara and a motivated Ousmane Garuba made it 26-15 with a dunk after the recovery. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 29-18, reflecting Spain’s good offensive minutes.

Argentina will not be participating in the Games (they were eliminated by the Bahamas), but they have a lot of talent in their ranks… and a lot of character. He did not want to be a sparring partner that had already been defeated and increased the intensity of his defense. 29 points in 10 minutes was a result they did not want to repeat and in the following minutes they conceded only 7 (36-27). Abrines opened the scoring with a three and Aldama scored the 12th point before the break, but a three by Juani Marcos, who led Argentina with his second unit, left the score 48-42 with just 2 seconds left. Llull had enough time to repeat another impossible goal and score just after the siren, making the score 51-42.

If Argentina stopped Spain’s offensive productivity in the second game, they finally exhausted it in the third. Scoring was very difficult, and the percentage of shots dropped significantly. Sergio Scariolo’s team could not run either, so the accident was completely spoiled. Willy’s dunk after an offensive rebound was the culmination of Spain’s attack, in which Argentina took the lead with a basket by Gonzalo Bressan (58-59). Five points in a row from Llull made the score 63-59 at the end of the third quarter.

The match was already following the usual scenario Spain-Argentina. Equal score, strong defense and tactical traps from two coaches: Pablo Prigioni and Sergio Scariolo. Each basket was a double reward: Brusino put the Argentines ahead again, and Willy restored the tie with three minutes left (70-70). The opponent was not intimidated by the noisy crowd, and Laprovittola made the score 70-72. Willy returned the blocks to their place, and a three-pointer by Aldama with a later personnel seemed to solve the conflict, but the referee annulled the three points, and only the free throws of Xabi Lopez-Arostegui were accumulated. Argentina had the ball to win … Faku Campazzo hit the ball and forced extra time, and Ousmane Garuba appeared on the block that became the image of the match.