Spanish Basketball Team Faces Pre-Olympic Challenge After World Cup Elimination

The players of the Spanish basketball team after being eliminated from the World Cup (FEB)

The worst World Cup in Spanish men’s basketball since 1994, along with the first major championship without the presence of the team in the quarterfinals in no less than 23 years, has led La Familia to live, in 2024, a situation literally from another time: dispute the Pre-Olympic in search of the ticket for the next Olympic Games. The basket boys have spoiled us so much to successes that the last time they were seen in such a position was in 1988.

The possibility of missing out on the Olympic event for the first time since Atlanta 1996 cannot be ruled out, with only four places at stake among 24 teams in July of next year. However, history is on the side of Spain, which came out on top on the vast majority of occasions in which it had to qualify in this way.

The debut in the pre-Olympic competitions took place in 1960, when original myths such as Emiliano Rodríguez, Nino Buscató and Alfonso Martínez, among others, certified, in this competition, their presence in the Rome Games. To achieve this, they beat Chinese Taipei (83-55), Sudan (88-40), Suriname (77-54), Belgium (81-71) and Canada (60-49). Only the Czech Republic, then Czechoslovakia, was able to beat Spain (52-64), which finished third in an event held in Bologna.

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Worse luck occurred in 1964, when the pass for the Tokyo Games was not obtained in a Pre-Olympic Games hosted by Switzerland. They beat the Netherlands (85-80), Luxembourg (88-58), England (97-67), Bulgaria (76-73), Belgium (82-78) and East Germany (69-67), but lost against France (66-93) and, in a second match, the Belgians (85-94). Emiliano led a team that did not prosper in Geneva, but did in Mexico four years later.

In 1968, in a pre-Olympic tournament based in Monterrey, Spain was the first to qualify for the Mexican Olympic Games: their victories against Indonesia (105-69), Uruguay (68-63) and Australia (85-66). , for a single defeat at the hands of Poland (82-83), they allowed it, with a stellar Clifford Luyk.

It would also be in Munich 1972, although for this it was necessary to overcome a Pre-Olympic divided into two phases. The first was in the Netherlands, specifically in Amsterdam. There they beat England (96-63), Hungary (96-67), Bulgaria (108-84), Italy (67-66), France (90-78), Sweden (93-77) and the Netherlands (102- 79), with defeats inflicted by the Poles (86-88) and the Czechs (87-88). Facing the second pre-Olympic date, they traveled to Germany. In Augsburg, Spain beat Sweden (77-67), Greece (88-82), Canada (94-68), Finland (90-71), Bulgaria (67-64) and Mexico (75-69): Poland, again, he was the only executioner (78-82). Wayne Brabender excelled greatly in both cases: third first and seconds later.

The stands support the Spanish after their elimination in the Basketball World Cup (FEB)

Montreal 1976 would not have the Spanish, who were left without a place in the Hamilton Pre-Olympic. On Canadian soil, the national team beat Poland (99-73), the Netherlands (97-86), England (98-79), Bulgaria (115-79), Sweden (91-78) and the Czech Republic (94- 89). However, the defeats conceded against Mexico (72-73), Yugoslavia (today Serbia: 71-96) and Brazil (100-109) weighed more, with Brabender again as the highest benchmark.

Although Switzerland, specifically Geneva, brought back bad pre-Olympic memories, it was the scene of qualifying for Moscow 1980. On that occasion, they had to beat Hungary (97-50), England (125-63), Poland (107-81) , Finland (107-92), Germany (85-59), France (103-100) and Israel (100-89). The setbacks against the Czechs (68-70), the Swedes (86-87) and the Italians (79-93) did not matter, with a final third place in which Brabender, once again, had a lot to do.

The first Olympic silver in Spanish basketball, in 1984, began to be forged in the Pre-Olympic in France. Defeat Turkey (111-74), Switzerland (111-78), Greece (90-89), Sweden (97-76), Germany (99-78), Israel (120-97), England (102-91) and France (117-102) gave the ticket. The only game lost was against the extinct Soviet Union (92-119), which came first, ahead of Spain, and was not even in Los Angeles, to return the previous Olympic boycott of the United States. Fernando Martín and Epi were the stars of a memorable squad.

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Thus we come to 1988, when the Seoul Games were entered through a Pre-Olympic held in the Netherlands. Spain finished third after getting rid of England (98-64), Ireland (118-62), Sweden (103-97), the Netherlands (94-68), France (90-70), Germany (106-96) and Greece ( 91-84). Italy (90-91) and the intractable USSR (82-129) and Yugoslavia (73-84) beat our team, led by Andrés Jiménez, in Rotterdam.

In order to be in Paris 2024, Scariolo’s boys must be first in the Pre-Olympic that they have to play: four winners, four places. Between July 2 and 7, it will be necessary to go to the venue that happens to be in search of the dream goal. Who could Spain play against? Cameroon, Bahamas, Bahrain, Poland, Croatia, Montenegro, Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Greece, Georgia, Egypt, Finland, New Zealand, Lebanon, the Philippines, Mexico, Angola and the Ivory Coast will be there. Also four of these six European teams: Germany, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Serbia and Latvia.

Juan Núñez and Sergio Scariolo (REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan)

Spain could benefit in the future draw due to its good FIBA ​​ranking, which would prevent it from coinciding with some of the most powerful hypothetical contenders. The format, at least in the most immediate precedent, is as follows: four groups of six subdivided into two groups of three per tournament, with the first two of each subgroup disputing the semifinals and the winners of the final of their Pre-Olympic on duty certifying presence in Paris. One that will cost its own to specify. Scariolo’s word: “The Pre-Olympic is going to be very tough, it’s going to be a titanic feat to qualify for the Games.”

2023-09-05 03:09:46
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