In the 21st century, twelve European Championships have been held. In ten of them Spain has been in the semifinals and in the one that is being played between Israel and Slovenia it was not going to be an exception. Miguel Méndez’s team is already in the semifinals after suffocating Germany. The prize for the victory against the Germans is double. In addition to accessing the fight for metals again, the selection is guaranteed the presence in the Pre-Olympic in February 2024. And now comes Hungary. Spain has been fortunate to go for the simple part of the table. The Magyars are an accessible team to dream of the sixth final in history (four golds -1993, 2013, 2017 and 2019- and one silver -2007-). On the other side of the table are Belgium and France, the two best teams in the tournament by far from what has been seen so far.
Spain took the path to the semifinals from defense. The Germans have a couple of players who are among the best in the championship. They are two acquaintances from the Endesa Women’s League. Gülich is the center for Valencia Basket and Fiebich is a forward for Casademont Zaragoza. The first was left blank in the first two quarters and the second was the top scorer for the Germans in that period with 5 points. And it is that Germany crashed into the defense of the national team. The 5/27 shooting from the field translated into less than a point per minute midway through the game. 19 points had accumulated at halftime.
Spain dominated from the start thanks to the aggressiveness of Gil (13 points, 11 rebounds and a PIR of 21) and Queralt Casas (10 points and 4 rebounds). The pivot marked territory from the beginning and the intensity of the outside was the scale that set the temperature of the Spanish game. His penetrations and work behind unhinged the German defense. If we add to this the outside success of Quevedo (3/5 in three pointers and 11 points), fundamental due to Conde’s loss due to problems with his left shoulder, Spain found a very peaceful quarterfinal.
As if Spain wanted to respond to the recitals of France and Belgium, the team did not let up after the break. Maite Cazorla (10 points and 5 assists) took over the game and the differences were close to thirty. The coach was allowed to reserve Silvia Domínguez for the fight for the medals. Germany, which was averaging 64 points per game, closed the third quarter with 29 points.
On the other side of the table, France and Belgium did nothing more than ratify their firm candidacy for gold and that the semifinal between the two on Saturday is little less than an anticipated final. Belgian center Emma Meesseman achieved the first triple-double in the history of the tournament with 15 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals and a PIR of 38 in 29 minutes on court against Serbia. Her contribution allowed Belgium to win by 40 points over the Balkans, who aspired to the podium. France was not far behind and defeated Montenegro by 44 points.
67. España (20+13+20+14): Cazorla (10), Torrens (3), Casas (10), Carrera (7) and Gil (13) -main quintet- Ouviña (2), Quevedo (11) , Rodríguez (7), Ginzo (4) and Pendande (0).
42. Germany (7+9+13+13): Brunckhorst (2), Bessoir (2), Fiebich (5), Gülich (6) and Geiselsoder (4) -quinteto titular- Wilke (6), Greinacher (9) , Sontag (5), Crowder (1), Hartman (0) and Degbeon (2).
Referees: Proc (Pol), Vulic (Cro) and Baki (Tur). No deleted.
Incidents: 500 spectators at the Stozice Arena in Ljubljana. Last quarterfinal match.
Calendario Eurobasket
Quarter finals
Hungary, 62-Czech Republic, 61
Belgium, 93-Serbia, 53
France, 90-Montenegro, 46
Spain, 67-Germany, 42
From fifth to eighth (24-25)
1. Czech Republic-Germany
2. Serbia-Montenegro
Fifth and sixth place (Sunday)
Semifinals (Saturday 24)
1. Belgium-France (Tdp)
2. Hungary-Spain (Tdp)
Final (domingo 25)
Winner 1-Winner 2 (20:00, Tdp)
Third and fourth place (Sunday 25)
Loser 1-Loser 2 (17:00, Tdp)
2023-06-22 20:25:34
#defense #leads #Spain #Eurobasket #semifinals
