It seemed that Spain was prolonging its nightmare in the Eurobasket debut, with a defeat that was reminiscent of the disappointments in the last two tournaments, but it was only a step back to gain momentum. The Spanish rose from the blow against Latvia and this Thursday they swept Germany (67-42) in the quarterfinals, a victory that ensures a place for the 2024 Paris pre-Olympic next February.
The team forgot the poor performance at the Tokyo Games and the previous European one, in which they finished seventh, and became more like other golden generations that have collected medals, including four gold ones in Europe. Miguel Méndez’s players, who made his debut with the national team in a great event, will be able to fight for their own medal tomorrow against Hungary in the eleventh European semifinal for the Spanish.
Tel Aviv (Israel) witnessed at the beginning of the tournament a Spain still with doubts and with mechanisms to assemble, while the spectators in Ljubljana (Slovenia), the other venue for the championship, witnessed a team without notable cracks, perfect in defense and dynamics in attack.
Germany could not stand up to a Spain that imposed its favoritism from the first play. The Spaniards signed an initial 6-0 run that, far from diminishing, was hopelessly widening against a handcuffed and erratic rival. The Germans were without scoring for the first three minutes and watched helplessly as Queralt Casas, Maite Cazorla and Laura Gil opened the gap at the end of the first quarter (20-7).
Germany stopped the bleeding in a second quarter where they continued without finding their two stars, Leonie Fiebich (5) and Marie Gülich (6), totally suffocated by a Spanish defense that above all short-circuited the short-circuited rival team with great pressure that led to many losses.
In the previous games, against Greece and Montenegro, Spain suffered a scare after the break, but this time they short-circuited the reaction of Lisa Thomaidis, who asked for more intensity. An impossibility for a team with molten batteries after the effort in the round of 16 against Slovakia.
Spain had no mercy and continued to persist in the zone defense like a knife in butter. Laura Gil and Marta Cazorla on the inside and Alba Torrens with a three-pointer shot up the lead (49-20). Far from saving strength, Spain continued abusing a Germany on the canvas in the last quarter. A triple by Laura Quevedo and another basket by Laura Gil put the maximum advantage (60-29).
With only two minutes to go, after a timeout, a Spain that is one step away from making history again slowed down. The penultimate obstacle will be Hungary, a priori an inferior rival who nevertheless beat the Spanish before the Eurobasket. The other ticket to the final will be played by France and Belgium, the executioner of the current champion Serbia.
Spain (20 13 20 14): Cazorla (10), Casas (10), Torrens (3), Gil (13), Carrera (7) – starting five – Ginzo (4), Ouviña (2), Quevedo (11) , Rodríguez (7) and Pendande (-)
Germany (7 9 13 13): Brunckhorst (2), Geiselsode (4), Bessoir (2), Fiebich (5), Gülich (6) -cinco titular- Crowder (1), Greinacher (9), Wilke (6) , Degbeon (2), Hartman (-)y Sontag (5).
Referees: Proc (POL), Vulic (CRO) and Baki (TUR). No eliminated.
Incidents: match corresponding to the quarterfinals of Eurobasket 2023 played at the Stožice Arena in Ljubljana (Slovenia) before about 450 spectators.
