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France pulls off Spanish upset in WCup
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FRANCE upset Spain 65-52 in front of its stunned fans in the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup on Wednesday.
After dominating its first six games and blowing out France by 24 points in the group phase, Spain appeared to be the main candidate to dethrone the United States in a possible final that would have been a rematch of the past two Olympic gold medal games.
But France defended well and rebounded even better to ruin Spain’s quest for a title for a second straight summer.
Last summer, Tony Parker helped France end Spain’s quest for a third consecutive European title.
This time, Spain had several reasons to believe it would avenge that loss. Parker wasn’t playing for France, and Spain had Pau Gasol back in its ranks, besides playing at home.
“It’s a painful and disappointing defeat,” Pau said. “We had such high expectations and had played so well until now.”
Spain had averaged 88 points per game through its first six wins, all blowouts. But France cut off Spain’s passing lanes and forced it into solo efforts.
Serbia will play France today after it routed Brazil 84-56 in the other quarterfinal.
The US plays Lithuania in the other semifinal.
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