Spain Too Much For Greece

Spain 76, Greece 58

- The rematch of the Worlds final did not really live up to the expectations. Greece's offense was anemic once again & couldn't build any type of continuity. The losses of Fotsis & Big Sofo are becoming more apparent with each passing game for Greece. Continue to struggle shooting the ball from the outside--shot 6/25 from 3pt vs Spain, & are shooting 31.5% for the tourney.

- The zone really affected the Greeks again today. Really cramps Papaloukas' style when not allowed to easily probe the lane. When he does get room for his drive & kicks, no one is consistently knocking down shots off the kicks. Also, the packed-in defenses make it difficult for him to excel in the pick/roll game; oh, what could have been if Coach K was not so stubborn & foolishly morally opposed to zones last year. Zones cut down another main weapon in Greece's offense: Spanoulis' drives--he made a living at the ft line last year off his aggressive drives. Coach Yannakis has to try to get Nikos Zisis involved more--Greece's best pure shooter.

- Gasol was a big presence on the backline of the zone, either turning back penetrating guards or making it difficult for Lazaros Papadopoulous to post up. Though, the Spain defense wasn't as sturdy as normal. Had a few breakdowns in the zone, mostly getting beat on the baseline little too much where guys were slipping behind the zone. Love the way Coach Pepu Hernandez is not afraid to mix up his defenses, but stuck mainly with their zone, which is the right move vs. Greece.

- Felipe Reyes did a nice little job on the low block, showing off his superb footwork, contributing 10 pts & 8 rebs to the Spanish cause. Rudy Fernandez paced Team Espana with 20 on 6/9 (3/6 3pts) 4 rebs, 2 stls. Pau had a solid all-around game with 15, 5 rebs, 5 asst & the aforementioned interior defensive presence.