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September 5, 2014

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Spain too strong for France

RICKY Rubio’s quick hands set the tone and Marc Gasol had a game-high 17 points as Spain beat France 88-64 on Wednesday to remain undefeated at the Basketball World Cup in Granada.

Rubio had five assists, three steals and two drives down the lane for layups in the first quarter in his 100th appearance for the national team, with the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard looking eager to atone for Spain’s loss to France at last year’s European Championship.

Rubio struggled later, but Spain was never threatened down the stretch.

France focused on containing Pau Gasol, but the Chicago Bulls player still scored 15 points to nearly match his brother Marc.

The closest France got was 19-19, but Juan Carlos Navarro sunk a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter. Navarro then drained another 3 followed by Marc also scoring from long range.

France, playing without star Tony Parker, was kept afloat by Nicolas Batum and Antoine Diot with 11 points each. Spain (4-0) returns to the raucous Palacio de Deportes to play Serbia (2-2), while France (2-2) faces Egypt (0-4) to close Group A.

Also in Granada, forward Marquinhos Vieira made six 3-pointers in a 81-73 win for Brazil (3-1) after it weathered Serbia’s explosive third quarter, when it erased an 18-point deficit.

At other venues, the US, Greece and Slovenia also improved to 4-0 to remain in first place in their groups with one game to go.




 

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