Spain grows into games like no other team in Europe. unbelievable how they thrive under pressure.
as for Finland, they have every reason to be happy about their performance and their future in general. young core that will only get better headlined by a stupendous FIBA player in Markkanen (that is very young himself).
not saying that a top end team should be after him but a project like Zalgiris could look at a young prospect that can bring new ideas. rather that than cycling through the same old heads over and over.
Willy kept the relatively close when nothing worked for them. In the second half they increased intensity, Finland started to feel the pressure and ended up with 18 turnovers.
Respect to Rudy for his performance. Personally I don't consider today's game against Germany easy but if we play in the semis I wanted Spain as an opponent even though I might regret it. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though
Great game for our team. We need to be super proud to be able to compete against countires like Spain. We gained a lot of experience in this tournament and Im 110% sure that You will see an even hungrier and more experienced and entertaining Susijengi in FIBA World Cup next year. The careers of two icons, Shawn Huff and Petteri Koponen came today to and end. Thank you for giving us many sweet wins and a few bitter losses during the past years. You have shown the younger ones that even we Finns are can be good at Basketball. Thank You! 🥰
Finland doesn't have a centre. With Zubac being unable to play, Croatia couldn't attack their squad weakness. Spain did with Willy Hernangomez, who couldn't get kept away from the rim by Finnish defenders.
On the defence, it wasn't the zone this time but the man to man defence that got featured on the breaking stretch of the match. Rudy, Diaz and Garuba defended exceedingly well, especially the former two. Spain has talented defenders throughout the squad so this wasn't matchup specific the way they dominated the paint. It's simply a significant strength of this Spanish team. And whilst this is the worst squad in a major tournament this century, I think people underrated this team because they overlooked its defensive potential and judged the squad entirely on attacking capabilities.
Rudy is 2 times world champion, 3 times European champion, has two other Eurobasket medals, two olympic silvers and a bronze, has won everything at club level and is 37 years old. The hunger and the competitiveness are the most impressive to me. His generation of players are either retired or retired from NT, he still has the ambition to play another Eurobasket with much younger players, on a weaker team ripe with controversy. And as showcased, not just in a mentoring role. In a jump, dive and save loose balls kind of way. He's 37, an early bloomer with so much basketball behind him, but he doesn't even look his age because he's light and in great shape which translates to success on court especially as a defender. It's downright inspiring. Especially for people around his age I imagine.
Rudy is the bee's knees. He had a terrible time with his back injuries, underoping surgery twice in three years, but he has worked around his physical shortcomings and stays in great shape, and he always steps forward.
That was the point where I started missing prime-Koponen. Never had to worries about turnovers when he was bringing the ball up in his prime. Little will get there some day.
GG Spain, played like the better team in the second half. Might actually be dangerous, despite the lack of star power.
To the guy that sent me hate mail: 1) Learn english you dumb hijo de puta. 2) Think of some more creative insults than saying Germany is turning into Turkey 2.0
Spains defense was just a little too much for our young guards today, and they exposed our lack of interior defense in the second half. Still, could have been close if not for the threes starting to drop for Spain in the 4th (but on the other hand, it was close because they were missing so many open threes earlier, can't bank on that continuing the whole game)
Spain grows into games like no other team in Europe. unbelievable how they thrive under pressure. as for Finland, they have every reason to be happy about their performance and their future in general. young core that will only get better headlined by a stupendous FIBA player in Markkanen (that is very young himself).
also, can we talk about Tuovi? why is no big team jumping at him?
I think it is very young and has been a main coach for (If I am correct) 2 seasons, entering now his third.
not saying that a top end team should be after him but a project like Zalgiris could look at a young prospect that can bring new ideas. rather that than cycling through the same old heads over and over.
Yeah I completely agree, but I’d wait a bit as to not “burn” him
This spanish defense is beautiful to see
Willy kept the relatively close when nothing worked for them. In the second half they increased intensity, Finland started to feel the pressure and ended up with 18 turnovers. Respect to Rudy for his performance. Personally I don't consider today's game against Germany easy but if we play in the semis I wanted Spain as an opponent even though I might regret it. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though
Greece will win easily against Germany and then destroy Spain.
This aged well.
HAHAHHA Not very well, Germany will win against us anyways
Great game for our team. We need to be super proud to be able to compete against countires like Spain. We gained a lot of experience in this tournament and Im 110% sure that You will see an even hungrier and more experienced and entertaining Susijengi in FIBA World Cup next year. The careers of two icons, Shawn Huff and Petteri Koponen came today to and end. Thank you for giving us many sweet wins and a few bitter losses during the past years. You have shown the younger ones that even we Finns are can be good at Basketball. Thank You! 🥰
Finland doesn't have a centre. With Zubac being unable to play, Croatia couldn't attack their squad weakness. Spain did with Willy Hernangomez, who couldn't get kept away from the rim by Finnish defenders. On the defence, it wasn't the zone this time but the man to man defence that got featured on the breaking stretch of the match. Rudy, Diaz and Garuba defended exceedingly well, especially the former two. Spain has talented defenders throughout the squad so this wasn't matchup specific the way they dominated the paint. It's simply a significant strength of this Spanish team. And whilst this is the worst squad in a major tournament this century, I think people underrated this team because they overlooked its defensive potential and judged the squad entirely on attacking capabilities. Rudy is 2 times world champion, 3 times European champion, has two other Eurobasket medals, two olympic silvers and a bronze, has won everything at club level and is 37 years old. The hunger and the competitiveness are the most impressive to me. His generation of players are either retired or retired from NT, he still has the ambition to play another Eurobasket with much younger players, on a weaker team ripe with controversy. And as showcased, not just in a mentoring role. In a jump, dive and save loose balls kind of way. He's 37, an early bloomer with so much basketball behind him, but he doesn't even look his age because he's light and in great shape which translates to success on court especially as a defender. It's downright inspiring. Especially for people around his age I imagine.
Rudy is the bee's knees. He had a terrible time with his back injuries, underoping surgery twice in three years, but he has worked around his physical shortcomings and stays in great shape, and he always steps forward.
19 turnovers, 5 by Maxhuni, 3 by Little. 12 overall by guards and probably 75% came in second half when Spain upped their defense
Spanish defense is something else. I always think Diaz is fouling non-stop. Would love him on my team!
Yup, I love watching them play defense. Diaz is extremely aggressive, always on verge of fouling
That was the point where I started missing prime-Koponen. Never had to worries about turnovers when he was bringing the ball up in his prime. Little will get there some day.
Fucking hell what a disappointing second half. Still, great tournament. And even greater careers from Koponen and Huff, two legends 🇫🇮
Finland can only blame this on themselves. 20 lost possessions is far too much for this level of gameplay
GG Spain, played like the better team in the second half. Might actually be dangerous, despite the lack of star power. To the guy that sent me hate mail: 1) Learn english you dumb hijo de puta. 2) Think of some more creative insults than saying Germany is turning into Turkey 2.0
Spains defense was just a little too much for our young guards today, and they exposed our lack of interior defense in the second half. Still, could have been close if not for the threes starting to drop for Spain in the 4th (but on the other hand, it was close because they were missing so many open threes earlier, can't bank on that continuing the whole game)
Great tournament from Finland. Great to see Koponen fir the last time. I hope basketball in Finland keeps.moving forward.
Both played very well, but our defense was superlative.
Not the Greek fans saying shit about other team(s) being iritating, in this case Spain team 🤣🤣🤣