Spain vs. Senegal: FIBA World Cup 2014 Round of 16 Score and Twitter Reaction

Spain had no trouble with its round-of-16 opponent, easily cruising to an 89-56 win over Senegal to advance to the 2014 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals.

A balanced crop of scorers led the way for the host nation. Pau Gasol led the game with 17 points, while Serge Ibaka, Felipe Reyes and Jose Calderon all added 11 points each off the bench as the team shot 57.6 percent from the floor.

Mouhammad Faye and Abdou Badji each scored 12 to lead Senegal, but sloppy team play and a lack of talent in the post led to a lopsided defeat to end their World Cup run.

Things were somewhat tight early on with Senegal holding a six-point deficit after one quarter, but Spain slowly extended their lead to double digits before halftime and made it a blowout late with a 27-13 fourth quarter.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle noted that things look more inevitable than ever for a USA-Spain gold medal game:

Coming off five easy victories in the group stage, Spain had no trouble asserting its status as one of the favorites in the 24-nation tournament. That only continued on Saturday, with their advantage in size, skill and depth shining through from the opening tip.

Senegal didn't stand a chance after the way it shot the ball as a unit and took care of the ball. Going 21-of-59 from the floor as a team and 2-of-11 from the three-point line was bad enough, but 21 team turnovers were way too much to overcome.

Gorgui Dieng was a stud in the paint for Senegal in the group stage, but he failed to replicate that success against Spain's burly frontcourt. He finished with just five points and seven rebounds.

NBA.com's John Schuhmann captured his poor stat line:

While Dieng struggled, Senegal was able to hold its own down low at first with Spain. The underdogs led the rebound battle 38-33 on the contest, but a massive 13-0 advantage in blocks for Spain tells the story of just how overmatched the Senegalese were in the post.

While Spain built a double-digit lead that never really got touched after the first half, it was just a 13-point game at halftime. That quickly changed to open up the third quarter, as Spain scored six straight and led by 20 multiple times in the third before blowing it open in the fourth.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Senegal came in with some young talent who had the chance to frustrate an older Spain team, but that wasn't the case on the court Saturday. The host nation looked like the fresher team, and when the fourth quarter came around, they were firing on all cylinders while Senegal couldn't keep up.

It wasn't always easy for Spain, though, as Erik Gundersen's video shows Calderon struggling with his water bottle:

Gasol was especially impressive in the process, flashing his athleticism with a couple of big-time plays that impressed NonStopHoops:

Bleacher Report's Kelly Scaletta thinks his play bodes well for Bulls fans:

ESPN's Ethan Strauss thinks Team USA might be in trouble if and when it faces Gasol:

The 34-year-old Gasol has emerged in a big way so far in the World Cup, but he hasn't done it without serious help. While he was 8-of-10 in his own right, brother Marc Gasol also added nine points, six boards and four blocks. 

As a trio, the Gasol brothers and Ibaka combined for 10 of Spain's 13 blocks to put the lid over the basket for Spain.

After another dominating performance, Zach Harper of CBS Sports is just ready for the inevitable gold medal game:

Anything other than this lopsided win would have been a reason of concern for Spain, but it had no trouble defeating an over-matched opponent that posed some matchup problems. After Team USA dominated Mexico in a similar fashion in the round of 16, it was certainly a needed boost of momentum to stay on pace with the Americans.

Up next for the Spanish is a quarterfinal game against France. The French defeated Croatia on Saturday to advance in a tight 69-64 affair, and they will certainly have their hands full trying to defeat a team that beat them by 24 points in the group stage.

As for Senegal, it loses for the fourth time in six games in Spain and after sneaking into the knockout stage, their improbable run is over.