ESP/POL – Poland surprise ruined by the great Navarro

ZARAGOZA (EuroBasket 2009) - Poland came up just short in their bid to hand Spain their first defeat of the summer on Thursday night, falling 88-83.

Spain, having brushed aside all of their previous opponents, endured an almighty struggle against a Polish team that will have gained a lot of confidence in pushing the world champions so close.

"We took the fight to Spain," Poland veteran Adam Wojcik said.

"It was a very difficult game, but it proved that in sports anything is possible."

With three minutes remaining in the contest, Poland led 79-76 but Spain's veteran guard Juan Carlos Navarro came to the rescue as he has on so many occasions in the past by reeling off nine straight points for the home side.

Navarro scored on two drives, made a couple of free-throws and also buried a three-pointer.

The Barcelona star finished with a game-high 26 points while Jorge Garbajosa and Marc Gasol weighed in with 18 apiece.

David Logan, the naturalized Pole, showed he can be a handful for any defense by pouring in 20 points while Michal Ignerski scored 17.

Big center Marcin Gortat was also a force on the boards for Poland with 16 rebounds and two blocked shots to go with his six points, but his frontcourt mate Maciej Lampe finished with no points and just four rebounds in more than 19 minutes.

Krzysztof Szubarga and Lucasz Koszarek scored 14 apiece for Poland.

The EuroBasket tips off on September 7 in Poland.

The top six sides will qualify for  the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Poland will compete in Group D with Turkey, Lithuania and Bulgaria while Spain are in Group C with Great Britain, Slovenia and Serbia.

If Turkey are in the top six, then a top-seven finish at the EuroBasket will be good enough to earn a spot at next year’s big event in Turkey.

FIBA