GLIWICE (Poland) - Both Spain and Israel were already sure of qualification, and in a relaxed mood provided us with a dramatic finish. Israel lost their first game, meaning there will be no unbeaten teams in FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers after all is said and done.

Israel are still the group winners, while Spain made sure they finished above .500 with a 78-73 win. The reigning FIBA Basketball World Cup winners finish as Group A runners-up, behind Israel and above Poland and Romania.

Turning point: Teams traded blows in the entire second half, but Spain turned their defense up a notch in the closing minutes. Israel struggled to get a good shot, and Tamir Blatt's three-pointer at 72-72 with 1:50 to play was their only field goal of the last two minutes. Meanwhile, Dario Brizuela's long two put Spain up, Jake Cohen split a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game headed into the final minute.

Guy Pnini missed an off-balance three-pointer, Ferran Bassas made it a three-point game from the line, which made coach Oded Kattache search for a game-tying triple in the last 20 seconds. He went to Cohen, but a contested three-pointer did not drop, and Spain sealed the deal from the line.

Game hero: Dario Brizuela knocked down a big three-pointer and a long two when it mattered most, finishing the game as Sergio Scariolo's top scorer with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Honorable mention goes to Ferran Bassas, 12 points, 7 assists and 2 steals.

Stats don't lie: No matter which Spanish team lines up, you can be sure they will be as deep as teams can be. Scariolo's second unit put up 37 points, going +14 against their rivals from Kattache's bench.

Bottom line: Spain get the win, but Israel proved once again that their 5-1 record is not a coincidence. Aside from Guy Pnini (37) and Jake Cohen (30), all other players were 26 or younger, and the 18-year-old Noam Shimon Dovrat got 18 minutes against the world champs. The future looks bright for Israel, but the present belongs to Spain.

They said:

FIBA