Spain wins 2nd FIBA basketball World Cup title

Spain captured its second FIBA basketball World Cup title after defeating Argentina with 95-75 in the gold medal game held at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China. The Spaniards won their 1st basketball World Cup title in 2006 in Japan.

Key Highlights

The Spaniards capped a dominant run as they finished undefeated at 8-0.

Point guard Ricky Rubio was named Most Valuable Player of the international competition. He led Spain with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He surpassed Pablo Prigioni of Argentina as World Cup assists leader since FIBA started recording all game statistics in 1994.

Marc Gasol won his 2nd championship in less than 3 months. He won NBA championship with Toronto Raptors and has become 2nd player to win an NBA title and FIBA World Cup title in same year. In 2010, Lamar Odom accomplished this feat for Los Angeles Lakers and USA Basketball.

Gasol who finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists was among 5 players named to FIBA World Cup 2019 All-Star Five. The other four are Rubio, Bogdan Bogdanovic of Serbia, Luis Scola of Argentina and Evan Fournier of France.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2019