Rudy Fernandez turns back the clock as Spain blows out Bulgaria / News - Basketnews.com

Spain immediately took control of the match and blew out Bulgaria while being able to stop Dee Bost for contributing for the opponents' team.

Credit: Federación Española de Baloncesto Credit Federación Española de Baloncesto

The Spanish national team dominated both in the backcourt and in the paint and notched itself an easy win over Bulgaria 114-87 (28-17, 29-18, 32-31, 25-21) in the opening match of EuroBasket 2022.

Player of the Game EFF 21 Willy Hernangomez Points 16 Accuracy 4-6 Rebounds 6 Assists 4

Spain immediately started the game on a better note. Although the Bulgarians even led at first (9-8), Spain then went on a 12-0 run (20-9) and never looked back.

Spain already had an 11-point lead after the first 10 minutes but it was the second quarter when the winner of the game was practically decided. The Sergio Scariolo team controlled the flow of the match and doubled their lead in the second quarter to end the first half leading by a solid 22 points (57-35).

The second half was a mere formality. All 12 registered players appeared on the court for Spain, and only Sebastian Saiz, who spent the least amount of time playing, remained scoreless.

Lorenzo Brown led the winners' squad in scoring with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting, while also dishing out 5 assists for 21 PIR in just 17 minutes of play. Willy Hernangomez contributed with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists for 21 PIR.

Real Madrid's Rudy Fernandez turned back the clock during the match. The 37-year-old veteran made 4 three-pointers out of 7, all during the most important moments of the match when Bulgaria tried to mount a comeback. Rudy ended the match with 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists for 15 PIR.

Sasha Vezenkov was the top-scorer on the Bulgarian roster with 26 points. He also grabbed 11 rebounds to amass a total of 32 PIR points.

Spain: Lorenzo Brown 17 (3/5 2PT, 3/5 3PT, 5 AST), Willy Hernangomez 16 (4/6 2PT, 6 REB, 4 AST), Rudy Fernandez 14 (4/7 3PT), Juancho Hernangomez 13 (7 REB), Jaime Fernandez 12 (3/3 2PT, 2/5 3PT), Jaime Pradilla 10 (5 REB), Usman Garuba 10 (5/6 2PT, 7 REB).

Bulgaria: Sasha Vezenkov 26 (5/6 2PT, 3/5 3PT, 7/8 FT, 11 REB), Pavlin Ivanov 16 (4/4 3PT), Chavdar Kostov 13 (4/7 2PT, 1/8 3PT), Emil Stoilov 12 (5/6 2PT).

Full game highlights:

Lorenzo Brown's performance:

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.