It’s only day 1 and we may have already seen the game of the tournament, writes Emmet Ryan
This was a slow starter but once it got going we got a real barn-burner here in Berlin on the opening day of EuroBasket 2015. Nemanja Bjelica and Nemanja Nedovic gave Spain all they could handle while Sergio Rodriguez and Felipe Reyes caused not shortage of problems. In the end it was a rousing second half display by Serbia that carried the day.
It was a clash of NBA champions at EuroBasket 2015 although it will take a few readers a moment to realise who the second one is. Pau Gasol and Spain were looking to get off to a good start after falling well short of their lofty standards in Slovenia 2013 and in last year’s World Cup. Ognjen Kuzmic meanwhile was looking for his third championship of the year, having won the D-League and NBA titles albeit with only a smattering of appearances and none of consquence for the Golden State Warriors. He is part of a Serbia line-up that has arrived with lots of hope and no shortage of expectation following last summer’s run to a silver medal in Spain. Even the Serbian press corps was anxious before this one, despite being amongst the tournament favourites they knew the psychological importance of an early game against the team that has dominated the continent by and large since 2006. This isn’t the same Spain however with several big names absent due to injury or rehab.
It was a nervy start with Nikola Kalinic’s score the only interruption to an otherwise tepid early going. Serbia were the only team doing anything on offence and even that wasn’t a whole lot. Gasol brought some life toSpain with a big block on Miroslav Raduljica before Rudy Fernandez finally opened Spain’s account with 4.58 left in the first. Space was at a premium here with neither side having much room to breathe on offence. Pau Ribas found some however to nail a three from the left wing and put Spain 12-9 up. When Rudy followed up Sasha Djordjevic called a time out but it did little to settle his charges. Djordjevic would get T-ed up before the frame was in the books and Spain looked strong with a 21-11 lead after 10 minutes.
Nemanja Bjelica finally made his presence felt with a drive inside to score early in the second. The reigning Euroleague MVP had been quiet through the first frame and Serbia needed the Minnesota Timberwolves summer addition to get things going. Stefan Markovic cut the gap to 7 and the ship appeared to have steadied. Bjelica stormed in from the left wing to keep the pressure on Spain but Felipe Reyes was gliding around the Serbian paint with ease to keep Spain ticking along. Both sides had endured their ugly periods, now we were finally getting a game between two legitimate European powers. Pau Ribas tried to stretch things out for Spain by Nemanja Nedovic responded as they exchanged threes. Another Nedovic three cut the gap to just 2 points as Sergio Scariolo was forced to call a timeout. Ned-Mania however couldn’t be contained as he tied it up. Sergio Llull got the last word for Spain, just about, on the buzzer to give his side a 36-34 lead at the break.
We had a good one cooking here but Djordjevic’s determination to play Markovic over Nedovic seemed bizarre. The past two years haven’t exactly been a delight for the kid but he was making a difference on the floor here. Instead it was Markovic back out to start the third quarter. The intensity went up a few notches as both sides traded blows before Teodosic tied it up once more at 43-43. Every Spanish error was getting roared by the Serbian fans. Everything the did right was getting a polite bang of a drum from the gentleman behind me. We still had 15 minutes of basketball to play and it felt like we were in the final 2 already. We were in a completely different game from the first quarter with both sides bringing their best. Bjelica made a three to put Serbia in front and then Markovic pushed the lead to 3. Scariolo called in his charges again. This wasn’t so much a chess match as slobberknocker. On the opening day of the tournament Dirk Nowitzki was getting what he asked for, Serbia and Spain were taking everything out of each other. Markovic picked up his fourth and had to sit but nobody else in red was getting much of a breather.
A Bodgan Bodganovic three brought this place to its feet as Serbia looked to charge. The lead was now 6 and Spain needed something to get things going again. Instead they got a hero shot from Rudy that never lookek going in and Zoltan Erceg made a three to push the lead out further. Serbia were playing like the gold medal was at stake and Bjelica made it a double digit lead. Even the marginal stuff was going their way, Mirotic fouled but he sure as heck didn’t see himself do it and Nedovic punished him on the subsequent possession. With 10 minutes to play it was Serbia on top 62-52.
Spain could have easily panicked but they looked calm and happy to let their defence do the heavy lifting to start the fourth. Mirotic got his side back into it with a couple of buckets early on. Raduljica responded with a big jam to open Serbia’s account for the final frame but wildly over-cooked a lay-up on the next possession. The game lost a bit of its sting but Pau Ribas forced Serbia to wake up with a three to make it a one-possession game. Bjelica immediately responded in kind. Gasol then started to make his presence felt and Spain were within a point with just under 2 minutes to play. Another Bjelica three gave Serbia some room to breathe before Bogdanovic pushed the lead to 7 with just 48 seconds to go. That proved the decisive moment. Serbia had been rattled by Spain but they never lost their never. The first round goes to Djordjevic but don’t be surprised if he sees Scariolo again.
Leave a Reply