JR Holden stole the ball from Pau Gasol and then hit a jumper with 2 seconds remaining to give Russia the 60-59. And when Pau Gasol’s last second attempt rimmed-out, that gave Russia their first-ever Eurobasket championship over the hosts and favorites of the tournament, Spain. (game thread)

While some national teams had bigger names (Spain, France, Germany) and some others needed buzzer-beaters to win games (Slovenia, Croatia, Greece). The Russian national team coached by David Blatt, who just might be the best coach in Europe, quietly went 7-1 throughout the tournament defeating their opponents by seven points or more in six of their wins with their only loss coming at the hands of Spain.

Led by Andrei Kirilenko, Victor Khryapa, JR holden and Nikita Morgunov with great supporting help from players like Sergei Monya, center Aleksey Savrasenko, three-point shooting Zakhar Pashutin, Petr Samoylenko, and 21-year old Anton Ponkrashov. Though Kirilenko stands out and certainly deserved a lot of credit, it was his front court partner Victor Khryapa who received the ultimate compliment from coach Blatt “Khryapa was the secret of our success.” Krhyapa finished the game with 7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Spain led throughout most of the fourth quarter and Russia was not able to grab the lead until two-straight turnovers in the final minute gave them their opportunity. Kirilenko stole a pass by Spain’s Carlos Jimenez setting up a Nikita Morgunov jumper to bring Russia within striking distance 59-58, and that would set up the final plays of the game.

In the next possession Pau Gasol, who finished the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds, turned the ball over the with 25 seconds remaning to setup the game-winning shot by Holden. Jose Calderon continued his fantastic floor play by scoring 15 points.

“This was a victory of David over Goliath. We faced the beast and knocked him down and won,” Russia coach David Blatt said. “It’s a historic event. I’m proud to be the person in charge of this historic journey.”