Reigning men’s European basketball champion Spain was tough against Finland in the semi-finals of the Olympic qualifying tournament.
6.7. 23:30•Updated 0:41
The Finnish men’s national basketball team’s Olympic dream crumbled late on Saturday evening in Valencia, when Spain beat the underdog Susijeng 81-74.
The game was still tied at 72-72 two minutes before the end, but after that Susijengi didn’t succeed in making any more shots in the game.
– You have to be proud. The team showed growth and today especially the will. We were two perfect games away from the Olympic dream, something we’ve been dreaming about for years. Today we were almost perfect with this group. Spain was that much better than us, commented the head coach Lassi Tuovi For Urheilu.
Scored the highest score of the match, totaling 28 points Willy Hernangomez and scored 15 points Lorenzo Brown scored the decisive baskets for the tournament host at the end. Finland lost 18 possessions, Spain lost ten. The saves went to the hosts 6–0.
Susigengi was very involved in the game and led Spain both after the opening period (20-17) and after the third period (59-56).
In the second period, Susijengi threw threes with poor aim, lost too many balls and played for more than six minutes without scoring a single point. Spain won the period 21–10 and jumped out to an eight-point halftime lead 38–30.
Lassi Tuov’s guards got into the game with a wonderful third period, which they won by no less than 29–18.
Only 17 years old Miikka Muurinen brought more energy when he got on the court and hammered the score to 54-56 at the end of the third period, when Spain had to resort to overtime. After that, the evening’s Joker card Andre Gustavson brought Finland to a 56–56 draw, and Miro Little nailed the lead for Finland to 59–56 with his triple.
– The guys have grown as players and know how to implement what we have agreed in advance. It’s pretty amazing that we were able to fight for the victory until the very last seconds against one of the best basketball countries in Europe and actually in the world. Of course, it’s sad that we didn’t win, but this is good for the team’s young players, reminded the 33-year-old captain Sasu Salin.
In the final of the Olympic qualifying group in Valencia, Spain will face the Bahamas on Sunday evening, who defeated Finland in the opening match. Only the winner advances to the Paris Olympics.
– Feeling disappointed and now it’s sad that we won’t be playing anymore on Sunday. The essence of the national team is in playing fast and together. In the end, it was no longer successful. You just have to learn from this. In the final moments, Spain scored better than us from difficult situations. The ball maybe bounced a little in the opponent’s direction today as well, saw Gustavson, who signed a contract with Kauhajoki for the next season.
Finland has not beaten Spain in men’s national basketball since 1967. In 24 years, the teams have met only three times in prestigious competitions: in the 2013 European Championship follow-up series in Ljubljana, in the 2022 European Championship quarterfinals in Berlin, and now in Valencia in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Factors of Finland’s points:
Andre Gustavson 15/3
Mikael Jantunen 13/9/3s
Edon Maxhuni 11/-/2s
Alexander Madsen 8/8/2s
Jacob Grandison 8/3/3s
Miro Little 6/5/4s
Olivier Nkamhoua 6/2/3s
Miikka Muurinen 4/1
Elias Valtonen 3/5
Sasu Salin -/2/3s
At 00:41 players’ comments were added to the story