RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Spain beat Turkey, 64-62, on Anna Cruz's buzzer-beating game-winner to advance to their first-ever Olympic Semi-Final.

The game went to the wire and, after Turkey's Lara Sanders tied the score at 62 with 4.3 seconds left to play, Cruz ran up the court and hit a tough shot off of one foot from just inside the three-point arc for the win.

Spain, returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, will face Serbia in Thursday's Semi-Finals.

Turning Point: Turkey were on top at the end of the first three quarters - 17-12, 29-25 and 47-42 - but Spain used a 10-0 fourth quarter run to turn a 60-52 deficit into a 62-60 lead on a Cruz basket with 36.8 seconds to go. Isil Alben missed a three-point attempt with 23 seconds remaining and Spain looked to run the clock out but Alba Torrens turned the ball over and Birsel Vardarli-Demirnen fed Sanders inside for the game-tying lay-up with 4.3 seconds. That left enough time for Cruz, without any hesitation, to run up the court and hit the game-winner just as the final buzzer sounded.  

Stats Don't Lie: The final score reflects just how close of a game this was and how evenly matched the two teams were. Aside from Cruz's game-winner, Spain also owe their victory to doing a better job scoring in the paint (40-24) and getting a considerably bigger contribution from their bench players (20-3).

Hero: Cruz scored Spain's last four points and they were by far the most important ones. Having shot just 2-of-9 through the first three quarters, she stepped up in the final quarter, going 5-of-7. She finished with team-highs of 14 points to go along with 6 assists.

The Bottom Line: Thursday's Semi-Final between Serbia and Spain will feature two first-time Semi-Finalists, ensuring a maiden Golden Medal Game appearance for one or the other. This will be a re-match as the two teams met in the Group Phase, with Spain winning 65-59 on that occasion.

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