ESP/MKD - Intriguing battles

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - One could not help but look back at EuroBasket 2011 this week as Spain took on The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) in a couple of friendlies.

The national sides, nearly two years after their glitzy Semi-Final showdown in Lithuania, squared off in Santiago de Compostela on Tuesday and 24 hours later in Leon.

The Spaniards and MKD are getting ready for next month's EuroBasket in Slovenia and the latter look as if they have every chance of being as competitive as they were in the Baltics, despite falling 66-61 in the warm-up game.

Spain were more decisive winners on Wednesday, prevailing 77-55.

Remember the mood in Kaunas two years ago when MKD resembled a team of destiny.

They went into the last-four meeting with Spain fresh off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition, a 67-65 triumph over hosts Lithuania.

Vlado Ilievski hit the go-ahead three-pointer against the Lithuanians with 11 seconds left.

The victory led to fans pouring into the streets of Skopje.

All of the MKD players were adored by their compatriots long before the tournament, but the victory over Lithuania made each a national hero.

Pero Antic, Bo McCalebb, Todor Gechevski, Gjorgji Chekovski, Predrag Samardziski and the Stojanovski brothers, Vojdan and Damjan, became basketball gods in their homeland.

Spain were No. 2 in the FIBA Ranking Men going into the game.

They had won the 2006 FIBA World Championship, claimed a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and stood on the top step of the podium at EuroBasket 2009.

Spain had a squad that looked unbeatable with the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, Juan Carlos Navarro, Serge Ibaka, Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Ricky Rubio and more.

At half-time in 2011, MKD led 45-44 and another upset looked as if it might be on the cards.

Spain struggled to impose their fast-breaking style of play on MKD, who knotted the contest at 58-58 with 4:11 remaining after a jumper by Ilievski.

In the blink of an eye, Spain finally took control with Pau Gasol making a jump shot and Navarro following with a three-ball and two free-throws for a 65-58 lead.

They closed the quarter on a 13-4 run and maintained a comfortable advantage over the last 10 minutes before winning 92-80.

Spain then defeated France in the Final and MKD suffered a 72-68 defeat to Russia in the battle for third place.

This summer, there is no Pau Gasol, no Navarro, no Ibaka and no Felipe Reyes for Spain, yet they still look very good.

On Tuesday evening, though, even while Spain won, MKD's performance showed they have every chance of going on another impressive run at the EuroBasket.

"Macedonia is a very difficult team to beat because they know how to control the tempo," said Spain coach Juan Antonio Orenga.

Rubio says there are other qualities that make MKD hard to play against.

"They have very good shooters," he said.

"When they enter (the lane) they also cause problems."

Spain felt much better about the state of their team after the 22-point win on Wednesday in Leon, yet they and everyone else will know that MKD are going to be dangerous opponents for whomever they face next month.

At the EuroBasket in Slovenia, which gets under way on 4 September, MKD will play in Group B against Montenegro, Serbia, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Latvia.

Spain will play in Group C against Poland, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Croatia.

The tournament is a qualifying event for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Spain know they will play at the World Cup while MKD must claim a top six finish to reach next year's event.

If the Spaniards are in the first six, then the top seven sides at the EuroBasket will reach the World Cup.

Tuesday's game between Spain and MKD was played in Santiago de Compostela to pay homage to the victims of last month's train disaster in the city in which 79 people died and many more were injured.

FIBA