If he wishes to earn another championship with Spain, Ricky Rubio will have to wait until at least next summer's FIBA World Cup.
With another lackluster performance by the Timberwolves point guard, Spain fell 75-72 to France in Friday's EuroBasket semifinals. Rubio scored just two points, snagged two rebounds and dished out one assist in 15 minutes, 19 seconds of court time.
Fellow NBA point man Jose Calderon soaked up most of the minutes at the one spot during the latter half of Spain's try at a first-place three-peat. For the tournament, Rubio averages 7.9 points, 1.2 steals and a team-high 3.3 assists.
He and his countrymen were no match for France on Friday. Spurs star Tony Parker scored 32 points, and the French outscored Spain 10-7 in the extra period to advance to Saturday's championship game against Lithuania.
Spain takes on Croatia in the third-place game Saturday.
Once that's over, Rubio can turn his attention toward helping Minnesota return to the playoffs for the first time in a decade. The Timberwolves open training camp Tuesday, Oct. 1 at Minnesota State in Mankato and host Russian pro team CSKA Moscow in their preseason opener Oct. 7.
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