Spain’s U20 Team Loses to France in Eurobasket Quarter-Finals
The Spanish U20 team’s dreams of winning a medal at the Eurobasket tournament have been crushed after a narrow loss to France in the quarter-finals. The match ended 74-72 in favor of France, with a decisive three-pointer scored by Noah Penda in the last second of the game.
Penda, who had missed all six of his field goals up to that point, including two three-pointers, made the decisive shot after a throw-in with 3.7 seconds left. He rose from over eight meters with Isaac Nogués’ defense on top of him and nailed it, securing the win for France.
This marks a reversal of fortunes for the teams, as France took revenge for their loss to Spain in the final of the U19 World Cup last year. Several players from both teams featured in that tournament, including Izan Almansa, who was named MVP of the tournament at the time. Almansa led Spain with 14 points and five rebounds, but was unable to lead his team to victory.
Struggling from Three-Point Range
Spain struggled from three-point range throughout the game, finishing with a modest 27.4% accuracy rate. They also accumulated losses until reaching 23 and were unable to contain the rebounding momentum of their rival, who added 23 offensive rebounds.
Tough Loss for Spanish Team
The Spanish team had a maximum of nine points, but was unable to break the game, which was headed for a close finish. A three-pointer by Jordi Rodríguez gave them a five-point lead (65-70) with 1:56 left, but France took the lead with a 6-0 run in which Spain missed two three-pointers, used up a possession and Almansa missed a shot.
Almansa did score with eight seconds left, giving the team the lead, but Penda’s cruel three-pointer was still missing, which would leave the brilliant Spanish generation (Almansa, Mara, De Larrea, Langarita…) without a medal in the Eurobasket U20.
