Eurobasket 2022 Finals : SPAIN are European champions!!!

[Jellybeans]

I already said it on Sunday, imo Spain has a clear path to gold.

They aint winning against Germany if Germany wins against Greece.

[Foliohattu]

Spain was too good in the long run, but glad we're able to compete.

[lambchop]

As for Finland, if Lauri stays healthy, they'll still be a pretty solid team in a couple of years when Miro Little is bit older. If he were less turnover prone/ more experienced, he probably would have played more minutes down the stretch today. He clearly has talent.

[lambchop]

I already said it on Sunday, imo Spain has a clear path to gold.

They aint winning against Germany if Germany wins against Greece.

If Germany had Mo Wagner, Kleber and Hartenstein, I would 100% agree with you. But with those guys injured / unwilling to play (Kleber) I don't think they aare clear favourites at all. Though I will say that I would be surprised if the Spanish guards destroy Schroeder and Wagner the way they did the Finnish guards.

[KG Leonard]

Man Spain absolutely blew them out in the end. Props to Lauri for still putting up nice stats with good effort, but Finland had 19 TOs to Spains 8. That was the difference in the game.

Yeah poor Lauri, I felt bad for him in the second half,he was great, getting fouled,doubled like he was Shaq or something and his teammates kept giving up silly turnovers. More like they couldn't handle the defensive pressure Spain showed in second half.

Spain is very flawed, a team with better bigs than Wily Hernandgomez or a better star than Lauri will destroy them. Finland bigs is so small,skinny and couldn't stop anyone inside.

[lambchop]

Man Spain absolutely blew them out in the end. Props to Lauri for still putting up nice stats with good effort, but Finland had 19 TOs to Spains 8. That was the difference in the game.

Spain is very flawed, a team with better bigs than Wily Hernandez or a better star than Lauri will destroy them.

I don't see anyone "destroying" Spain. Serbia has a historically great big in Jokic, but after seeing their terrible defense I doubt they could destroy Spain. So the only remaining teams with clearly better stars are Slovenia and Greece. They could definitely beat Spain, no doubt.

[txusto]

Anybody can beat Spain, but we can beat anybody. Congrats to Finland, they didn't give up.

By the way I wouldn't have given a passport to Lorenzo Brown, but it is what it is.

[fteru6uhre54ew]

What a legend Rudy is for me better than Navarro in the history of the NT. The guy didn't play only a tournament since 2003 with Spain and his consistency even at 37 is remarkable on both sides.

Finland with the better score in the first half of the history of the Eurobasket wich is amazing they played really good much better than talent wise they are. The game was random as **** a lot of times lol Spain with this boost on offense and more fast pace is going to be even more dangerous and they are showing why they have a strong domestic competition in Europe. The history and legacy from a lot of years is helping too there are a well construct identity.

[Nuntius]

Man, I'm not going to lie. The way that this second half played out hurt. Finland was sooo close to making it to the semis. I have been rooting for Finland ever since the 2013 EuroBasket. I have no connection to the country (I'm Greek and the closest connection I have to the country is that I talk about basketball with a Finn and that some of my favorite bands are from there) but they have always played a brand of basketball I've enjoyed. They have always been highly energetic, well-coached and exciting to watch. Henrik Dettmann was a great coach as well (not that Tuovi is bad, he did a good job in this tournament). Besides, who doesn't love rooting for the underdog? It would be so freaking good to see that underdog advance to the EuroBasket semifinals and compete for a medal. Part of me also believes that Finland competing for a medal would be great for the sport of basketball. The Nordic region has one of the highest average heights in Europe and yet Nordic countries do not care about basketball a lot. Seeing Finland go deep in the EuroBasket could spark more interest for the game in the region and that would be great for the sport as a whole since I'm sure that there is a lot of untapped potential talent there. But, anyway, I'm just ranting at this point so I'll stop

Back to the game. It was Scariolo and Rudy's defense that won this game for Spain. Scariolo's decision to pressure Finland's ballhandlers was a game-winning one and Rudy broke up a ton of plays. Willy was obviously amazing for Spain and a force in the paint. Juancho was good as well and he hit some big 3s (along with Brizuela). Brown and Garuba also did their job very well and I absolutely love Alberto Diaz. Opponents must hate playing against him. He is basically Spain's version of Patrick Beverley. An absolute pest.

As for Finland, the vets weren't able to help a lot in this one. It sucks because Salin, in particular, has been very good in this tournament but Spain found a way to stop him, especially in the second half. Lauri was spectacular once again. He didn't go nuclear like he did against Croatia but he was still very, very productive. Madsen was also very productive when he's on the floor but he was also an absolute foul magnet. He had 5 fouls in less than 15 minutes. Jantunen was also productive, even if he missed a couple of bunnies. Miro Little flashed some very intriguing potential tonight. Yes, Spain's pressure was able to shut him out in the second half but that makes sense since he's only 18 years old. You don't face that kind of defensive intensity in HS basketball and that's where Little was playing up until now.

All in all, it was a great game. Spain definitely earn the win and they deserve nothing but praise. But, man, the result makes me sad so **** you, Rudy

Edit: Despite my disappointment, this is not a dark day for Finnish basketball. If anything, it should be a joyous day. A top 8 finish is the best that Finland has had ever since 1967. This tournament was definitely a success for Finland and the team has a bright future ahead.

[KG Leonard]

Man Spain absolutely blew them out in the end. Props to Lauri for still putting up nice stats with good effort, but Finland had 19 TOs to Spains 8. That was the difference in the game.

Spain is very flawed, a team with better bigs than Wily Hernandez or a better star than Lauri will destroy them.

I don't see anyone "destroying" Spain. Serbia has a historically great big in Jokic, but after seeing their terrible defense I doubt they could destroy Spain. So the only remaining teams with clearly better stars are Slovenia and Greece. They could definitely beat Spain, no doubt.

They look beatable what I meant, not that anyone in the semis will destroy any other. I was thinking more like France, Greece with Gobert, Giannis who isn't smaller player to overpower inside, shooting 80% on 2s. They took the lead shooting 3-16 from 3. You dont need Luka or Giannis putting up 40 points to beat that. Finland was impressive but their defence wasn't quarterfinals quality imho.

[TSS]

We (Finland) lost this the way I envisioned us losing this. Turnovers galore, since we cannot handle pressure. Lauri did his job but we sorely need a point guard that can break defenses and calm things down. Miro Little might become that eventually if his development continues but as it stands now we are in between Rannikko/Koponen era and hopefully what becomes Little era.

As good as Salin is playing the 3 & D role he does not help at all in ball handling or playmaking. Maxhuni (our current starting pg) should be sixth man bringing firepower off the bench. Congrats to Spain - you always play the game the right way.

/TSS

[Foliohattu]

Edit: Despite my disappointment, this is not a dark day for Finnish basketball. If anything, it should be a joyous day. A top 8 finish is the best that Finland has had ever since 1967. This tournament was definitely a success for Finland and the team has a bright future ahead.

It's quite bitter sweet with Koponen and Huff retiring, but at the same time I think the young core is pretty solid and should be in good position at Eurobasket 2025 (with Finland already qualifying as a co-host ).

3 years from now Markkanen will be 28 and be surrounder by Little (21), Maxhuni (24), Jantunen (25), Valtonen (26), Nkamhoua (25), Kantonen (28), Madsen (30) and hopefully still Salin (34), so this core will be pretty much peaking.

[Mavrelous]

blitzkrieg!!

[Merc85]

Feuer frei

[Mavrelous]

Giannis Giannising the crap out of Germany

[greekbuck34]

Giannis vs prime Golden State Warriors.

[DaddyCool19]

The germans can't rebound.

[Merc85]

The germans can't rebound.

And we almost dont have any Points in the Paint.

Recipe for disaster

[Alonzo_Morning]

The germans can't rebound.

The Greeks (not named Giannis) can't score

[cloudXXI]

Spain is very flawed, a team with better bigs than Wily Hernandez or a better star than Lauri will destroy them.

I don't see anyone "destroying" Spain. Serbia has a historically great big in Jokic, but after seeing their terrible defense I doubt they could destroy Spain. So the only remaining teams with clearly better stars are Slovenia and Greece. They could definitely beat Spain, no doubt.

They look beatable what I meant, not that anyone in the semis will destroy any other. I was thinking more like France, Greece with Gobert, Giannis who isn't smaller player to overpower inside, shooting 80% on 2s. They took the lead shooting 3-16 from 3. You dont need Luka or Giannis putting up 40 points to beat that. Finland was impressive but their defence wasn't quarterfinals quality imho.

We played Lithuania, and we were able to minimize Valanciunas and Sabonis