Argentina vs. Spain: Odds, Time, Live Stream for 2019 FIBA World Cup
The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup comes down to a matchup between former champions.
Argentina and Spain have each won gold medals at the World Cup once, and one of those countries will add another when the two teams play in Sunday's championship game.
Argentina's previous World Cup title came in 1950, the inaugural tournament, while Spain won in 2006, the last time it reached the final.
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It will be Argentina's first appearance in the championship game since 2002, when it lost to Yugoslavia in overtime.
Here's everything you need to know heading into the final game of this year's FIBA World Cup.
Game Information
Date: Sunday, Sept. 15
Time: 8 a.m. ET
Live Stream: ESPN+
Odds (via Caesars): Argentina +3.5, Spain -3.5: -110 (wager $110 to win $100)
Preview
Entering the championship game, Argentina and Spain are both 7-0 so far in the tournament.
Argentina is coming off an 80-66 semifinal victory over France, and the team was fueled by former NBA power forward Luis Scola for the second straight game. Scola had 28 points and 13 rebounds in the win, boosting his World Cup averages to 19.3 points and 8.1 rebounds, both team highs.
After beating a strong Serbia team in the quarterfinals, Argentina controlled its contest against France from the start. Argentina jumped out to a 10-2 lead and led by seven points at halftime.
The Argentines then outscored the French by seven points in the second half to seal the victory.
"We have fun out there," Argentine forward Patricio Garino said, according to NBA.com's John Schuhmann. "Everything pulses together when we all know each other and have that chemistry on the court. It's simple. It's fun. We have no pressure. We are here to win, obviously, but to have fun."
Spain's semifinal matchup was more competitive, as it took two overtime periods for it to defeat Australia.
After each team scored nine points in the first overtime period, Spain outscored Australia 15-8 in the second overtime to advance to the championship game. Marc Gasol led the way for the Spanish side with 33 points and six rebounds.
Gasol and fellow NBA player Ricky Rubio have been Spain's top two players this tournament. Rubio leads the team with 15.9 points and 6.4 assists per game, while Gasol is averaging 14.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Spain coach Sergio Scariolo credited his team's veteran core for its run to the championship game.
"Winning feeds the ability to keep winning," Scariolo said, per Schuhmann. "The more quarterfinals, semifinals, finals you play, and the more you win, the more you know how to do it, how to manage it and how to win it."
Neither Argentina nor Spain won a medal at the previous two FIBA World Cups in 2010 and 2014, so no matter which country wins the gold, both will have its best placing in the tournament in the past decade.
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