BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) - Spain defeated Argentina 95-75 here on Sunday to claim 2019 FIBA World Cup title after 13 years.
Marc GASOL of Spain during the FIBA World Cup on September 15, 2019 in Beijing, China.(Photo: VCG)
Last time Spain captured the crown was in 13 years ago 2006. Ricky Rubio pocketed 20 points, Sergio Llull added 15 off the bench, Marc Gasol collected 14 and Rudy Fernandez had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Hernangomez brothers combined for 22 points.
Gabriel Deck contributed 24 points for Argentina, followed by 17 from Nicolas Laprovittola. Facundo Campazzo finished with 11 points and Luis Scola scored 8, while only shooting 3-of-21 from the field together.
Spain opened up the game with an 11-2 run before Argentina hitting back with 11 unanswered points to trim the deficit to 1 point on 13-14. Spain surged a 17-1 run again to expand the lead to 17 points on 31-14 in the second quarter, in which Spain played good defense and kept Luis Scola scoreless.
Spain opened up the third quarter with a 12-2 run, up to 55-33 before Argentina made it back to 55-39 after back-to-back three-pointers by Facu Campazzo and Gabriel Deck. With a great defensive output, Spain repelled Argentina's comeback and put the game beyond reach in the last period.
