2023-06-25 22:47:23
Spain dreamed until the end, when a catastrophic last quarter by the girls led by Miguel Méndez made what they had built with a colossal defensive exercise throughout the match collapse before the offensive potential of Belgium. The team led by Rachid Meziane was led by Meesseman and Linskens –40 points between them– to leave the Spanish women with honey on their lips, who leave Slovenia with silver and once again, in the elite of European basketball.
Gold was close, very close. The team touched him for 37 minutes, but the final against Belgium, the great favorite, took too long. The Belgians were the last stone on a path in which Méndez’s men had to climb constantly to alleviate the initial nerves of the tournament. The Latvian stain did nothing more than draw strength from an incredible group that has played each game like a final and has been leaving rivals in its wake. Spain accelerated towards the elite after overwhelming Montenegro and Greece, to become a gale against Germany, before which it obtained one of the six tickets to the Pre-Olympic, and surpassed the muscle of Hungary before leaving the gold against a team that was sliding across the Eurobasket painting under ‘The Imperial March’ from Star Wars.
spain
Cazorla (3), Torrens (8), Casas (14), Carrera (12) and Gil (4) -starting quintet- Quevedo (0), Ouviña (0), Ginzo (10), Domínguez (0) and Rodríguez ( 7).
58
–
64
Belgium
Allemand (9), Vanloo (13), Delaere (0), Meesseman (24) and Linskens (18) – the starting quintet – Massey (0), Mununga (0), Resimont (0) and Mbaka (0).
Referees Forsberg (Din), Tomic (Cro) and Männiste (Est). No eliminated.
Incidents 1,500 spectators at the Stozice Arena in Ljubljana. Eurobasket final.
Spain competes like nobody else but in front was the best team in the championship. The tournament in Belgium has been exemplary, sweeping everything up to the semifinals. Of course, until now no one had defended Rachid Meziane’s men as the Spanish team did, which dominated that facet during almost the entire duel, despite the very clear Belgian physical superiority.
The defense marked the duel
The duel started as expected. The brain of both teams made the difference. Alba Torrens and Emma Meesseman premiered the electronic. The Belgian star challenged the Spanish defense, which with Queralt Casas and Raquel Carrera showed great concentration. Leaving a team with the Belgian offensive potential to 13 points in the first quarter is worthy of applause.
The inaccuracies came into play in the final stretch of the second quarter, but the Spanish patience kept the pulse. Spain’s winning DNA was present in Ljubljana and appeared in a Queralt Casas in scoring mode, as well as in a tactical approach to wear down the Belgian superstar. The presence in the final was not the result of chance. The Spanish team, almost always present in the big events despite missing the last World Cup in 2022, is an excellent generational mix on the court, with a group that unites veterans from the previous stage with another of future players who are strongly asking for a step .
Belgium never took off
Carrera was adding points and widening a difference with which Vanloo and Meesseman did not agree. Casas was brimming with confidence and would put on rock and roll music as soon as they let her arm her arm. Despite the Belgian attempts to cut back, Spain continued to maintain a safe distance but Belgium, despite not being comfortable, never left the game.
By now it was more than clear that the defenses were going to determine the winner in the last period, but what Spain did not count on was the resurrection of the Belgian stars. Ginzo opened the locker in the last quarter with a triple to which Linskens responded from beyond 6.75.
Everything went wrong there for Spain. A chain of inaccuracies caused Belgium to put its breath on its neck. The ball burned and Meesseman put his team ahead for the first time in the match. If the big ones appear at important moments, there was Alba Torrens, discreet from the first bars until the decisive moment. But it was already too late for the comeback of the Spanish star, who shone in the semifinals.
Another collective play by Belgium, which found its best version in the last quarter, preluded a basket at will. So a couple more times. They no longer caressed the title, they had it in their hands.
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