A new EuroBasket champion will be crowned in Madrid after reigning world title-holders and hosts Spain dethroned Greece 82-77 in the semi-finals of the 2007 EuroBasket thanks to sterling performances by the Spanish trio of Juan Carlos Navarro, Pau Gasol and Jose Manuel Calderon.

The trio combined for 64 points and Calderon's three-pointer and break-away lay-up started and finished a crucial 9-1 run which turned a 67-65 Greece lead into a 74-68 advantage for the Iberians, who advanced to their sixth European final while still waiting for their first continental crown.

		Spanoulis stepped up big for Greece (24 pts) with Papaloukas on the bench in fould trouble.

"We expected this type of game, a really hard one against a really great rival like the defending European champions Greece," said Spain forward Jorge Garbajosa, who collected six points, five rebounds and four assists.

"Having won last night (against Slovenia), Greece had a lot of confidence coming into this game. But we showed a lot of character. Those who thought this game would be easy for Spain were mistaken."

In Sunday's final at the Palacio de Deportes, Spain will face either Lithuania - who knocked off Spain in the 2003 finale - or Russia, who face off in the second semi-final.

Greece will face the loser of that match with the victor on Sunday clinching the bronze medal as well as an automatic berth in the 2008 Olympics.

“We played our best game up to now in this tournament,” siad Greek forward Michail Kakiouzis. “We had a chance to win the game, but in the end, Spain made their free throws.”

Pepu Hernandez's troops used the long ball to knock off Greece for the third time within a year, routing them 70-47 in the 2006 World Championship finale and winning 76-58 in the qualifying round.

Navarro drained five three-pointers on his way to 23 points while Calderon hit four treys in scoring 18 points and Gasol was his usual all-around dominant self with 23 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Spanish defense, however, were never able to get under control Greek guard Vasileios Spanoulis, who scored 24 points while Panagiotis Vasilopoulos hit for 10 points.

After proving the hero in Greece's miracle comeback against Slovenia, Theo Papaloukas

		Pau Gasol was as dominant as ever for Spain with 26 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

struggled again with just three points, two rebounds and two assists.

He also turned over the ball with 11 seconds with a chance to cut into a four-point Spain lead.

The contest started as many hoped - like a battle of heavyweight fighters trading punches.

The Spaniards struggled a bit with their ball-handling early and Greece pulled ahead 10-6 on Dimosthenis Ntikoudis's three-pointer, but the Iberian bombers were warmed up and Calderon drained three three-pointers and Carlos Jimenez added another as Spain led 24-18 after one period.

Nikolaos Zisis converted a three-point play to start off the second quarter but Hernandez's marksmen were at it again.

This time Navarro hit twice and Carlos Cabezas's trey gave the hosts their first double-digit lead at 37-26 halfway through the second.

The Greeks tightened the defensive screws and held Spain to just two Rudy Fernandez foul shots in the next nine possessions and tied the game on Konstantinos Tsartsaris's inside basket with 18 seconds left in the first half - a 13-2 run.

Gasol however scored in the paint with two seconds left to give Spain a 41-39 advantage at the break.

The Greeks knew they were in the ball game to stay and grabbed the lead 49-47 on Spanoulis's steal and break-away lay-up.

The top-notch battle continued throughout the third period, highlighted by Navarro and Vasilopoulos each hitting two three-pointers with Greece finishing the third quarter ahead 60-59.

Tempers flared at the end of the third period on a final driving lay-up by Navarro, which the refs ruled was not a foul.

The entire Spanish team rushed to the other end of the court but the altercation was held in check.

Both coaches were given a technical foul as a warning to the players.

Navarro struck again from outside and then the referees called an unsportsmanlike foul on Tsartsaris for an apparent hit on Garbajosa, who made both foul shots for a 64-60 Spain lead.

Spanoulis converted a three-point play and Lazaros Papadopoulos's basket made it 67-65 with five minutes left but Calderon re-appeared for Spain, hitting another long bomb to spark a 9-1 run which he finished on a break-away lay-up for a 74-68 advantage with 1:47 to go.

Zisis's three-pointer with 19 seconds brought Greece to within 78-76, but Garbajosa and Navarro sandwiched two foul shots around a Papaloukas turnover for an 82-76 scoreline.

Spanoulis made a final free throw, but it wasn't enough.

Spain

Coach Pepu Hernandez: "All my respect to Greece. They have made us work very hard. Sometimes when you win a tough game there's more satisfaction. Greece and Yannakis did a great job. It has been a team game, and the players from the bench were supporting the ones on court."

"It was clearly a game where we showed our quality. We always want and try to win. Sometimes you must work very hard. Every time we had patience no matter what happened on court. Some things happened in the game that didn't allow us to play the way we want to."

"Some players on my team have difficulties against aggressive defense and we'll need to fix it. I'm very satisfied that we also enjoy this. Coaches don't often get a chance to enjoy. I'm very happy for my players."

Guard Jose Calderon: "It was 12 players against 12 players, maybe even 15 against 15 because all coaches were part of it. That game was a war, and the good thing is the team played at it's best. We played like a family and it shows because when somebody is making a mistake then others come and encourage him."

"This reminds me the semi-finals against Argentina from last year. Once again we came up with the pride that this team has. Greece is fighting till the end, but I hope tomorrow we'll play at the same level on both ends. We can't choose who's best for us. We can't believe that we'll play against an easy team. In this tournament every game is difficult, and for sure the finals will be tough."

Greece

Coach Panagiotis Yannakis: "We saw another game between the runner-up of the world in the home of the champion. We didn't have much time to prepare for the game."

"Congratulations to Spain, but we still try to play high level basketball, and it doesn't matter how, where and how often."

"For me it was a very nice game, and it was a good promotion for basketball, and that's more important than who won the game. We wanted to play one-on-one defense because we wanted to control the game and we didn't until the last four minutes. I choose this tactic because they have a lot of players, and if you get many players involved in the game, then you're in trouble. If you see all the game, you'll see many details that changed the score of the game. We had a lot of chances to win in the end, but we didn't and this is basketball."

Center Kostas Tsartsaris: "It was a very difficult game for both teams tonight. Spain had advantage because they had a night off. We were very tired from last night. We came to play against the best team and I think we proved our team is still on a very high level. We still have one more game and we want to win a medal."

It had to happen again, didn’t it?

Yes, Spain v Greece – a clash of European giants for the second time at EuroBasket 2007.

It is a rematch of the world title game last year in Japan, when Spain overcame the loss of Pau

		Papaloukas struggled for the most part against Slovenia but came up with the goods when it counted.

Gasol to injury and, behind the incredible play of Jorge Garbajosa, destroyed the Greeks to capture gold.

Earlier in this tournament, in the qualifying round, Spain defeated Greece 76-58 at the Telefonica Arena.

On Saturday, the game will be at the Palacio Deportes, and the Greeks will hit the court just 20 hours after their stunning come-from-behind victory over Slovenia.

Theo Papaloukas scored 17 points, most of them late in the fourth quarter, as Greece fought back from a 16-point deficit to win 63-62.

Papaloukas put Greece into the lead and scored the final points of the game with a drive to the basket just six seconds from the end.

"If anybody has a heart problem, and this game was difficult for him, we would like to apologize,” Greece coach Panagiotis Yannakis said.

“Basketball is a game until the last second.”

Spain will have had almost two days rest after their comprehensive victory over Germany, and they will have the majority of spectators inside the 15,000-seat arena pulling for them.

Last result: Spain beat Germany 83-55, Greece edged Slovenia 63-62.

Key Match-up: Dimitris Diamantidis v Jose Calderon. Diamantidis had his worst game of the tournament against Slovenia and will be anxious to get back on the floor and prove he is the best defensive guard in Europe. Calderon has been the best player in the EuroBasket. Not only has he been lighting a fire under his team-mates with his extraordinary defense and his explosive drives to the basket. Calderon has been hitting three-pointers, 10 of 23 (43%) overall.

Key Stat: Dimos Dikoudis has been one of Greece’s top players at the EuroBasket, but in the first game against Spain he scored no points and pulled down just three rebounds in 10 minutes. The 2.05m power forward must play one of best game of the tournament against Spain to improve his team’s chances.

X-Factor: Theo Papaloukas. The man called “the best player in Europe” by Greece coach Panagiotis Yannakis after Friday’s amazing win over Slovenia looks tired. He’s like a race car that is out of fuel and running on fumes. There were just enough fumes for him to lead his team to the chequered flag against the Slovenians, but will Papaloukas have energy against Spain?

Speaking out: “We need to rest and play with our hearts out tomorrow. Basketball isn't about revenge, but we have a chance to play them again and show we can beat them." – Nikos Zisi