Spain make basketball World Cup semifinal

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - With a 90-78 win over Poland, Spain on Tuesday qualified for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup semifinal.

Spain's point guard Ricky Rubio played an important role in the team's victory at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, China.

Rubio scored 19 points, made nine assists, and took five rebounds.

Spain's veteran forward Rudy Fernandez produced 16 points. The Real Madrid star played with 100% three-point field goals, scoring all five of his three-pointers.

Spain's Hernangomez brothers were on fire, as Willy scored 18 points and Juancho tallied 14 points in the quarterfinal match.

Marc Gasol, another Spain veteran, scored 10 points and produced seven assists.

Meanwhile Poland looked for a miracle against Spain as Polish point guard A.J. Slaughter had 19 points and six assists.

Poland's small forward Adam Waczynski scored 15 points. Michal Sokolowski, a fellow small forward, snagged 11 points.

Despite the team's loss, Polish power forward Damian Kulig scored 10 points.

Victors Spain booked their place in the World Cup semifinals, where they will face Australia or the Czech Republic.

China's semifinal stage will be held on Friday.

Earlier Tuesday, Argentina beat Serbia 97-87 to get to the semifinals.

Argentina bagged the final four ticket in the World Cup, eliminating Serbia, one of the favorites in this tournament.

In the semifinals Argentina will face the winners of the U.S. vs. France.