WARSAW, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Poland stunned world champions Spain 80-69 in their EuroBasket 2021 Group A qualifier in Zaragoza on Sunday to secure their first victory in the competition.
Mike Taylor's Poland side were looking to bounce back from their surprising home defeat against Israel, while Spain had high hopes of making it two wins from two after outplaying Romania in their opening fixture.
The hosts made a strong start to lead 9-2, but Poland were soon able to turn the game to their favor and took a 38-35 lead into the half.
The third quarter turned out to be crucial as Poland increased their lead to ten points, and then controlled proceedings in the final quarter to beat Spain for the first time since the 1972 Olympic Games.
A.J. Slaugter top-scored for Poland with 26 points, while Aaron Cel added 17. Dani Diez notched 16 points for the world champions.
"I am proud of the team. We worked hard and we can see the result of that. We are proud of Lukasz Koszarek, who played his 200th match for the national team. It will be a great memory for him," Poland coach Taylor said after the game.
"It was a difficult encounter, the beginning was not the best but later we had faith in ourselves that we could hold on. Going into the locker room after the first half, we told ourselves that we must put all our strength on the court and try to win this match. We wanted to return to winning ways after losing the first match," added Taylor.
In the next round of qualifiers, Poland now face Romania, while Spain take on Israel.
