Host nation Spain, with Juan Carlos Navarro and Álex Abrines in the side, had little trouble overcoming Senegal by 89-56 to qualify for the last eight of the World Cup. Navarro finished with 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in his 23 minutes, while the only other FCB player in the squad, Àlex Abrines only made a minor contribution. In the quarter finals, Spain will now face France in Madrid on Wednesday at 10.00 PM CET.
That’s the France team that put an end to Croatia’s World Cup challenge, and therefore that of Ante Tomic and Mario Hezonja. The 17 points offered by Tomic, his side’s second top scorer after Bogdanovic, were insufficient to avoid 69-64 defeat for the Balkans against a French side was simply too good in the second half.
Other than the two Spaniards, the only other FCB player left in the championship is Marcelinho Huertas, whose Brazil got the better of their South American rivals Argentina (85-65) on Sunday night. They now go on the hunt of a semi-final berth against Serbia, who beat Greece 90-72. That game is also being played this Wednesday in the Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, starting at 6.00 PM CET.
