VILNIUS, Lithuania – Without Tony Parker and Joakim Noah, France was no match for Pau Gasol's Spain at the European basketball championship.
Spain broke open the game with a 27-4 run in the third quarter and won 96-69 Sunday to claim first place in their second-round group. Guard Juan Carlos Navarro hit all four of his 3-point attempts and finished with 16 points, while Rudy Fernandez had 15 for Spain.
Parker and Noah were rested as the two teams had already qualified for the quarterfinals.
Serbia joined them in the final eight by holding on for a 68-67 victory over Turkey after Ersan Ilyasova missed the last shot of the game. Germany needs to beat host Lithuania by 11 points or more in the late game to reach the quarters.
France coach Vincent Collet dismissed suggestions that he did the tournament a disservice by resting two of his starters. Forward Mickael Gelabale was also out with a previous knee injury.
"Noah got a hit in the calf and he wanted to play, but the doctor said no," Collet said. "Tony has played more than 30 minutes in each of the previous games and he needed a rest."
France stayed within one at halftime, but Spain used its big third quarter to run away with the win and deal France its first defeat of the tournament. Center Kevin Seraphin led France with 18 points.
"They stepped up their level of aggressiveness and pressure and we could not keep up," Collet said.
Pau Gasol had 11 points in 18 minutes and his brother Marc Gasol added nine in 21.
"We wanted to respect our opponent and other teams and there is nothing like a good game to keep up the momentum," Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. "We know we start from zero in the quarterfinals, but it's good to go there in a good position."
In the early game, Turkey scored the first basket of the game but trailed the rest of the way.
Guard Milos Teodosic led Serbia with 20 points but also had six turnovers, including one with less than a minute remaining. He also missed a wild 3-point attempt. Dusko Savanovic, who finished with 14 points, had a block and rebound to secure the win for Serbia.