Eurobasket 2005: we fell in the struggle for medals

After the beating suffered at the Olympic Games of Athens 2004, when the win all the matches we played the run as a prize to play against United States, this selection is fine when no one can stop, back to the biannual European championship without our brightest star, Pau Gasol.

It would be the last championship Mario Pesquera, who after this would lead to Eurobasket Pepu Hernandez, who achieved victory in the 2006 World Cup. Pau Gasol, after missing many games with Memphis Grizzlies on his foot injury, decided to take a good vacation first time since leaving the NBA and did not take part of the package he left for Belgrade. Yes was the rest, as Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernandez (very young then), Felipe Reyes, Carlos Jimenez, Sergio Rodriguez, Sergi Vidal, Carlos Cabezas, Jorge Garbajosa, Iker Iturbe, Iñaki de Miguel and Fran Vazquez .

With this team, even with low Pau Gasol, Spain could aspire to everything, although the company would be much harder without the great lighthouse of Sant Boi. We are in Group D, along with the hosts, Serbia, an old acquaintance, Israel and Latvia. A tough group, although in this Eurobasket there was no single group:

In Group A was Germany, Italy and Russia, with Ukraine Cinderella. In Group B, Croatia, Lithuania and Turkey, with Bulgaria seeing him coming, and in Group C, France, Greece and Slovenia, Bosnia appealing to their roots.

As for previous European format was to pass the quarter the first of each group and the second and third to earn a place in a previous round. Spain lost to Israel, but the victory against Latvia and Serbia won him the first pass as group, which would be measured to Croatia, a young team that pointed ways. Therefore we had to get to overtime, 101-85, much as the marker can deceive.

Already in seminal our penultimate step was to Germany as the lead, with Dirk Nowitzki giving all. In an agonizing final, which put a Nowitzki layup with just 3 seconds left, Jose Manuel Calderon had his hand in triumph, but the ball went in and Spain lost 74-73 despite a great game Navarro (27 points , like Nowitzki), losing out in a final that Greece would win. Spain has not recovered from the blow and fell precipitously against France in the fight for the bronze, remaining without a medal for the first time since 1999.