[2006] FIBA World Cup (Group B: Game 5): Spain vs Japan

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Date: August 23, 2006 | Venue: Hiroshima Green Arena (Hiroshima) | Attendance: 6100
Boxscore: archive.fiba.c...
Report: www.fiba.basket...
Report (Spanish): www.libertaddi...
Pau Gasol scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as Spain finished the first round of the 2006 FIBA World Championship in top form with a 104-55 victory against hosts Japan.
The Spaniards were never challenged in the game, shooting 67 per cent in the first half on their way to their fifth victory in five matches. The Group B winners shot 59 per cent for the game and out-rebounded Japan 47-25.
Coach Pepu Hernandez used the game to work on a number of offensive and defensive schemes.
"We haven't had a lot of time to play. So we used this game to work on some passing games. Sometimes we ran them the right way, sometimes we didn't," Hernandez said.
Japan were led by 13 points from Takehiko Orimo while Daiji Yamada added 12 points. The team faced the difficult task of coming back from their devastating 60-57 loss to New Zealand, failing to hold an 18-point half-time lead and a 12-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
"It's basketball. We have a lot of young guys. But they did a good job coming back from yesterday," said Japan coach Zeljko Pavlicevic, who is expected to be fired soon.
"My job is finished. Many people have learned to accept Japanese basketball as something."
"He did a good job developing players for four years. But our target was the Round of 16 and we didn't make it," said Takeshi Ishikawa of the Japanese Basketball Federation.
Back on the court, Spain did not allow themselves to play down to Japan's level, dominating right from the start and grabbing a 20-point lead at half-time, 47-27.
And Hernandez's troops didn't let up on the throttle after the break, scoring the first 19 points of the game - nine of those from Juan Carlos Navarro. Japan didn't score a point until the 3:29 mark of the third quarter. And it was actually a goal-tending call against Jorge Garbajosa.
Spain led 78-36 after three quarters and the lead bulged to 56 late in the game.
Hernandez played three of his starters in the final minutes of the game - Pau Gasol even scored the final basket of the game at the buzzer.
"We have to keep going hard to get in better shape for the next game. That's the way we've been working and we'll work the same way," the coach said.
Hernandez also saw Felipe Reyes return to action after missing the first four games of the tournament with a rib injury.
In the Round of 16 in Saitama, Spain face Serbia & Montenegro.
"It's going to be a very hard game. Everybody in Serbia can play really good even though they are a young team," Hernandez said. "We have to look at what we can do. We know them better than the other teams we may have faced."
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