Spain beat Argentina to set up Quarter-Final date with rivals France

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Spain beat Argentina, 92-73, on Monday evening to seal their place in the Quarter-Finals of the Olympic Basketball Tournament, at the expense of hosts Brazil.

With the win, Spain are assured of finishing second in Group B and will take on bitter rivals France in the Quarter-Finals. The result also means that Argentina, Croatia, Lithuania and Spain are guaranteed to be the four teams from Group B advancing to the Last Eight, with Brazil joining Nigeria as the two teams being eliminated.

The game between Lithuania and Croatia will determine which of those two teams will win Group B and also whether Argentina finish third or fourth. If Lithuania come out on top, they will win the group, with Spain, Argentina and Croatia finishing second, third and fourth respectively. If Croatia prevail, they will top the group, followed by Spain, Lithuania and Argentina. 

The game was decided early on as, after Argentina scored the first eight points of the game, Spain then went on a 22-3 run and never looked back.

Turning Point: With Spain trailing 8-3, Rudy Fernandez went on a personal 10-0 run to edge the European champions in front 13-11 with 5:27 to go in the first quarter and it wasn't long before they took a double-digit lead. They not only maintained it but were able to gradually add to it the rest of the way. 

Stats Don't Lie: Spain outscored Argentina 38-26 in the paint.

Hero: Fernandez had his best offensive performance of the tournament, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.

Bottom Line: Spain will renew their rivalry with France in Wednesday's Quarter-Finals, with the winners of that clash on a collision course to potentially play defending Olympic champions USA in the Semi-Finals. 

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FIBA