Spain Champion of the Basketball World Cup

Spain beat Argentina 95-75 to win the Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2006 on Sunday, completing the team's spectacular debut with 32 teams.

Spain scored early and did not go too far, relying on a rebound and a strong defense to put an end to offensive threats from the 2004 Olympic champions.

Ricky Rubio scored 20 points, three assists, Mark Gasol and Willie Hernanjuez scored three shots apiece. The European team got 47 rebounds, 20 times more than their South American rivals to win an all-out victory.

The win marked a spectacular year for Gasol, who led the Toronto Raptors in the NBA before leading the country to the World Cup.

Gasol's victory over Australia's 33 points in the semi-final allowed Spain to access the gold medal, but that's its performance in defense that put his country at the top of the podium.

Gasol was effective under the basket and scored nine out of 12 free throws to keep the two teams separate.

Gasol and Rubio were rewarded for their brilliant presence in the perfect team announced after the final and Rubio was named player of the tournament.

"Until now, we have entered the history and we were ready for that.We had a great tournament, but we also have to pay tribute to Argentina.We fought for this victory." It's good to remember how we played as a team throughout the tournament. "We were neither the most talented teams nor the biggest teams, but we were the team with the big heart."

It was not the happy ending of the young Argentinian Luis Scola, who helped his impressive performance against France to lead his team to the final.

The 39-year-old was handcuffed for most of the match and waited until the end of the third quarter before scoring his first free-throw point.

This is the second time that Spain has won the World Cup in Asia after winning the 2006 title in Saitama, Japan, after defeating Greece in the final.

Earlier in the day, Nando de Colo scored 19 points and France scored 43% of its points on three points to win the bronze medal for the second time in a row with a 67-59 win over Australia.