ESP/LTU – Reyes, Rudy and Pau carry Spain past brave Lithuania into final

BEIJING (Olympics) – Spain edged Lithuania 91-86 to reach the gold medal game at the Olympics for the first time in 24 years while sending the Baltic giants to their fifth semi-final defeat in a row.

Spain, after a gritty performance from the unheralded Felipe Reyes in the third quarter, rode the back of Rudy Fernandez and Pau Gasol in the fourth to a famous win.

Reyes, the Real Madrid star, had just one point at half-time but scored eight in the third quarter while in the fourth Fernandez had nine of his 18 points and Gasol seven of his 19.

“Felipe is a very important player for any team,” Spain coach Aito Garcia Reneses said.

“He never stops. He rebounds, he runs, he’s a very interesting player.”

Garcia Reneses also spoke about Fernandez, a player he coached at DKV Joventut that was the MVP of this year’s ULEB Cup.

“Rudy is a very talented player,” Garcia Reneses said.

“He’s improving every year and his contribution to the national team this year is better because he’s improving. He defends well, passes well and shoots well.

“He has the spirit to win.”

Spain had to play without Jose Calderon, who injured his abductor muscle in their quarter-final win over Croatia.

“We dedicate this win to all of our fans, but we want to give a special thanks to Jose Calderon because he missed out on this semi-final and he was really down about it,” Rubio said.

“We hope we’ve given him a good present.”

Spain led by eight points in the first half but Lithuania stormed back with terrific outshooting, hitting six of 13 (46%) from long range.

They took a 42-40 lead to the break.

The Lithuanians hit three more three-pointers in the third – two by Simas Jasaitis who was five of seven by the end of the period – to lead 66-62.

The way the quarter ended, the Lithuanians must have believed it was going to be their night.

A Gasol three-point play had tied the game at 62-62 with eight seconds left, but Ksistof Lavrinovic replied with a three-ball and was fouled on the shot by Gasol.

He sank the free throw for the four-point advantage.

After a Gasol three-point play tied the game at 69-69, Sarunas Jasikevicius drove in for a lay-up to put Lithuania back on top.

Gasol passed to Reyes who hit a jumper to level the score again before Fernandez buried a jump shot to put Spain back on top.

Lithuania didn’t cave in with the excellent Lavrinovic answering with a three-pointer, only for Fernandez to go to the other end and hit a shot from long range.

Spain never trailed again.

Fernandez made two free throws, Gasol split two at the stripe and Carlos Jimenez, while attempting to follow up a missed shot by Marc Gasol, fell to the ground and a foul was called on Ramunas Siskauskas.

Jimenez went to the other end and made two for an 81-74 lead.

"This is a dream come true,” said the 17-year-old Rubio.

“We are in an Olympic final and that has only happened once before for Spain.

“You can imagine for me that I didn't know if I would make the national team four months ago to now be here in an Olympic final.

"I dedicate this win to Jose Calderon, who wasn't able to play but has played a big part in getting us here."

With 4:33 remaining and Lithuania doing an excellent job and keeping the game close, they suffered a hammer blow when Linas Kleiza was called for an unsportsmanlike foul – his second of the game – to earn an ejection.

“It was a very tough game,” Siskauskas said. “We played against a very good team. We had a chance to win this game. Some mistakes, some stupid fouls and they scored points.

“It was very difficult at the end to catch them. It happened how it happened.”

In the press conference, Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautas was asked about Kleiza’s performance.

“I am a coach,” he said. “I can talk about coaching. I will not speak about referees.

“Of course, Linas Kleiza didn’t play the best game, he can play better. I am not a referee.”

Jasaitis, who finished five of 10 from three-point range, and Jasikevicius scored 19 points apiece.

"We played well but we lost because we made small mistakes,” Jasaitis said.

“We allowed them to have second shots. In the last quarter, they went into a zone and I struggled to make my shots.

“But this is basketball - sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

“It's tough to play against Spain, if you want to win against them you need to play extremely well and be in good form.

"Now we must forget about this game and concentrate on our bronze medal game."

Jasikevicius, a legend in European basketball who was the MVP of EuroBasket 2003 after leading Lithuania to the gold medal, embraced Pau Gasol immediately after the final buzzer.

Spain will now take on either the United States or Argentina in the final.

FIBA