Spain's star NBA brothers Pau and Marc Gasol carried the team to their sixth consecutive continental podium finish with a 93-85 victory over Russia in Sunday's FIBA EuroBasket 2017 bronze medal game in Istanbul.
A dominant first half allowed Spain to prevail over Russia in Istanbul's Sinan Erdem Dome. Spain went up by 17 points, 45-28, after the first half, which proved to be an insurmountable lead over Russians.
Pau Gasol led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds while Marc Gasol totaled 25 points as Spain bounced back from their semi-final loss to Slovenia. Point Guard Sergio Rodriguez was also influential for his team; he scored 16 points and dished out 9 assists.
Spain won the European crown in 2009, 2011 and 2015, took silver in 2007 and finished third in 2013.
Russia, who have not won a medal since bronze in 2011, were paced by Aleksei Shved's 18 points. The Russians trailed by 18 points in the third quarter but cut the gap to two with three minutes to play. Pau Gasol and Spain, however, were too strong in the end.
Later in the evening, Slovenia have won their first ever gold medal in EuroBasket 2017 and become Europe's champions after defeating Serbia 93-85 in Istanbul on Sunday.
