Juancho Hernangómez Drops 27 as Spain Beats Rudy Gobert, France in EuroBasket Final

Spain defeated France 88-76 in the 2022 EuroBasket Final at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday to claim its fourth title in the continental tournament.

Spain, led by NBA veterans Juancho Hernangómez and Willy Hernangómez, went 4-1 in group play. The team reached the final with wins over Lithuania in the round of 16, Finland in the quarterfinals and Germany in the semifinals.

Sunday's game marked Spain's fourth final in the last six years of the EuroBasket tournament. The team also won the title in 2009, 2011 and 2015.

France, stacked with NBA stars including Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, started out slow in the group stage, going 3-2 with losses to Luka Dončić and Slovenia and Dennis Schröder and Germany.

However, the squad picked things up in the elimination rounds, reaching the final via wins over Turkey in the round of 16, Italy in the quarterfinals and Poland in the semifinals. Though the team struggled again in the final.

France won its only EuroBasket title in 2013.

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Stat Leaders

Juancho Hernangómez, Spain: 27 PTS, 5 REB, 2 STL

Evan Fournier, France: 23 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL

Willy Hernangómez, Spain: 14 PTS, 8 REB

Thomas Heurtel, France: 16 PTS, 7 AST, 1 STL

Lorenzo Dontez Brown, Spain: 14 PTS, 11 AST, 2 STL

Rudy Gobert, France: 6 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 2 BLK

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Spain dominated the first quarter of action in what was a slow start for France as Gobert, Fournier, Vincent Poirier, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and Théo Maledon combined for just seven points to trail Spain 23-14.

Willy Hernangómez, meanwhile, led Spain in the first quarter with eight points, while Jaime Fernández and Lorenzo Dontez Brown scored five points each.

France entered the second half trailing 47-37 after a second quarter that saw Spain's Juancho Hernangómez pop off for 18 points, making six of his seven shot attempts from beyond the arc.

France's struggles in the second quarter were highlight by Gobert, who notched just three points, while Fournier added five points. Luwawu-Cabarrot, Maledon and Poirier didn't notch a single point through halftime.

The second half was much of the same for Spain, which was in full control en route to an impressive victory over a roster full of NBA veterans. Spain controlled the pace of play from beginning to end and outworked France for much of the game.

Spain scored 35 points off turnovers, seven points on the fast break and 11 points on second chances. In addition, the team's bench outscored France's bench 47-29, which was a significant factor in the win.

With the EuroBasket tournament now over, players will begin gearing up for their professional seasons, whether it be in the NBA or elsewhere. The NBA season begins Oct. 18.