The captain set an example with his effort to the youngest and the coach once again made magic with his blackboard and an impregnable area
The Spanish team was on the canvas against Finland. We lost by 15 points during the second quarter and the general feeling was one of frustration until Don Rodolfo Fernández Farrés appeared to give an unparalleled defensive display.
Before scoring the two triples that gave the Baltics the finishing touch, Rudy stole five ballsjumped off the pitch for another goal and gave a speech to his teammates at half-time that made them leave fired up for the second half. “I think he was going too far with what he was saying, but he is the captain”said Scariolo about the madridista’s harangue.
Rudy played his 231st match as a Spanish international and if he plays in the two remaining games of the tournament, he will surpass Juan Carlos Navarro as the player who has worn the Spain shirt the most times. Rudy has seen them in all colors and against Finland he had to replay his battered physique at just 37 years old.
Good old Rodolfo led Spain to his eleventh semifinal consecutive EuroBasket. Since the trigger of Barcelona 97, this team has always been in the fight for medals remaining only without hanging a metal in the 2005 European when Nowitzki made us bitter in the match for third place.
Spain went into the break losing by nine points and With that balance, ours had only managed to overcome a game of five played. The one we turned the tables on, in the semifinals of the 2012 Olympic Games against Russia, already had Rudy and Scariolo as protagonists in the team.
Scariolo Factor
The Italian once again knew how to change the course of a team that was not very supportive in defense in the first quarter. The panic to Markkanen caused the Spanish defense to sink too much allowing triples released from some Finns who did not forgive in that stormy start.
Spain had only conceded 30 points in their historyagainst the United States team -the black leg- in matches at the Olympic Games. Finland broke the exceptionality establishing a 30-19 in these quarterfinals.
The tables turned as soon as Scariolo put the zone and allowed Willy Hernangómez to rest more in defense. The man from Madrid responded with a wild performance in attack with 27 points in just 24 minutes. The coach knew how to squeeze the juice out of a player who was never to his liking due to his lack of defensive involvement, maximizing his chances.
Spain awaits the host Germany in a very morbid semifinal. Nobody expected Spain in the fight for the medal and the same thing happens with some Teutons who successfully eliminated Antetokounmpo’s Greece. The EuroBasket has been left without any of the NBA MVPs after the premature elimination of Jokic’s Serbia.