EuroBasket Tourney Recap, Spain Wins Championship
Spain finished off the 2009 EuroBasket tourney with a strong 85-63 victory over Serbia to claim the tournament gold medal trophy.
Once again, Spain was led by the tremendous play of current Los Angeles Laker, Pau Gasol. Gasol was unstoppable today and throughout the tourney. But he couldn't have done it without the help of players like Juan Carlos Navarro, Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, and our very own Portland Trail Blazer Rudy Fernandez.
Not only was Rudy solid again in the final game, but he continued to spread the floor on offense and get steals throughout the tournament. He averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and led the tournament with 2 steals per game. Rudy was also named to the 1st team all tournament team, solidifying his worth to the team and proving to his NBA team that more Rudy is a good thing.
Victor Claver, the other Spaniard who was drafted by the Blazers in the 2009 draft, didn't get a whole lot of playing time in the Eurobasket, but his skills and future potential were more than evident. When Claver finally got 17 minutes against Great Britain he put up 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. I saw him play early on and he was easily able to shoot it, pass the ball, and just looked like a great young player. I'm excited to see him in the future.
Another Blazer player who had significant contributions for his French team was Nicolas Batum. Unfortunately he was part of a more disappointing situation as France was only able to win 5th place 69-62 over Croatia after a first round loss to Spain. France came into the final bracket riding a 5-0 record and playing very good basketball. Unfortunately for France, Spain was peaking right as the final 8 started and France was pummeled by Spain 86-66 in the first game.
Much like Rudy, Nicolas played a pivotal role in France's success and proved that he has a bright future ahead of him in the NBA. Watching the EuroBasket, I've come to the conclusion that Nicolas Batum should be the Blazers starting small forward this season. His versatility, defensive prowess and overall athleticism would fit in well with Portland's starting unit.
Nic ended the tournament averaging about 9.5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Not to mention multiple sweet dunks and really he exuded a ton of confidence which will continue to help him on the Trail Blazers.
Final standings as follows:
- Spain
- Serbia
- Greece
- Slovania
- France
- Croatia
- Russia
- Turkey
