Spain defeated Australia convincingly and advanced to face the United States in the battle for medals. The Spanish national team presented its best version in the match, with emphasis on bench depth, excellent zone defense and a high shooting percentage.
The Spanish coach Miguel Méndez opted for a dominant formation in the paint, with Fam, Gustafson and Condé, to face the Run&Gun style of the Australians. Australia, which had been in seven of the last eight World Cup semifinals, arrived with a short rotation of only nine players.
In the first quarter, Spain was impeccable, finishing with 17-31. The Australians tried to react with Reid's three-pointers, but Iyana responded with three-pointers for Spain. Gustafson was relentless in the interior offense, while Torrens and Carrera took center stage. The Spanish team finished with 5 of 7 on three-pointers, an impenetrable defense, zero turnovers and seven assists.
