2014 FIBA Quarter-Finals Day 2

The final two teams earned entry to the Semi-Finals today -- including a huge upset! 

SERBIA vs BRAZIL
Serbia saved its best play for the second half and blasted a tired Brazil team 84-56 in Madrid. Teodosic put in 28 minutes of real hoops, hitting 10/10 from the free throw line,3/5 from the 3pt stripe and 2/4 from 2 for a total of 23 points and 4 assists. Big Krstic and Raduljica each scored 10 points as the bigs beat up on Brazil and helped Serbia advance to the Semi-Finals. Brazil was led in scoring by Varejao and Vieira, who scored 12 each.

FRANCE vs SPAIN
BRAVO LES BLEUS!!! France 65 Spain 52. Often in the game of basketball (and life) good things happen to those who are patient and work on their craft! Today, in Madrid, France pulled off an upset that few thought possible in front of a packed house of Spanish fans. The French team had underachieved early in the tournament but seemed to be on a mission of late.Their intensity on defense picked up, guards stepped up and made plays and some of the older bodies returned to their prime form. France took over the tempo and forced Spain into missed shots and mistakes, crushing their dream of meeting USA in the Finals. Boris Diaw led scoring for France with 15pts, 5 boards and 3 assists, and Rudy Gobert took over the paint, securing 13 rebounds and a blocked shot. I thought the final blow for Spain was a 3-pointer by Thomas Heurtel inside 1:10 remaining in the game. The basket put France up by 10 points, and Spain had no answers. Going 2 for 22, there was no catching up. When the three point shot didn't work for Spain, the inside game stopped working too. Spain was out-rebounded by 22 (50-28), and the French owned the offensive glass. Pau Gasol, once again, was great. He had 17pts, 8 boards and 3 blocked shots, but didn’t get any help from Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka or the misfiring guards. France will meet Serbia in the Semi-Finals.

UPCOMING GAMES:
Sept 11th:
USA vs LITHUANIA

Sept 12th:
FRANCE vs SERBIA

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