The Spanish team had the worst possible start, with a 53-51 defeat, against a Belarus who was only superior in the rebound, but the lack of accuracy in the shot was a burden too heavy for Lucas’s players Mondelo.
The Spanish team did not have the dream debut. The lack of success in the shot defocused the sworn objective of the players of Mondelo, dedicate the victory to Alba Torrens and Tamara Abalde, who tested positive for COVID and had to leave the team.
Only the defense saved the Spanish team, which closed the first quarter at a disadvantage, 14-9, with very poor hitting percentages, 3-16 on shots of 2, one of 8 on triples and one of 4 on free kicks.
Mondelo she rotated in search of a stable and productive quintet, but could not quite find the right players to face a superior Belarusian on the rebound and little else.
Astou Ndour, the best Spanish scorer with 8 points, needed two stays on the bench to start producing.
Belarus It also helped with their lack of aim, zero of 5 triples at halftime, which was reached with a minimal advantage for the Spanish, 21-22, although it was the Belarusians who dominated this meager marker most of the time.
Going through the changing rooms did not improve things much, at least in terms of scoring, but Spain He maintained the defensive intensity and was able to make a couple of transitions to reach a 4-point lead, 25-29 (min.22.30).
Without a reliable outside handle, Spain he had to resort to fighting, fast ball movement, defensive concentration to at least be slightly ahead on the scoreboard, 29-30 (m.26).
Each basket was quoted at the price of gold and at the end of the third quarter it was 35-33 for the Belarusians after another stunted partial, 14-11.
In the truth room, the team of Mondelo tried to accelerate the ball in attack in search of opportunities, but a triple of Papova and a couple of misses in defense turned the red light back on in Spain, 44-38 (m.34).
Cristina Ouviña He accepted the responsibility and kept the Spanish team in more than complicated moments and with one minute remaining, he raised the score to 49-49 and with 8.7 seconds left the tie at 51 with two free throws.
Belarus attacked and Alexandria’s final basket Bentley it shattered the dreams of victory of the Spanish women.
Data sheet
53 – Belarus (14 + 7 + 14 + 18): Hasper (6), Likhtarovich (2), Papova (19), Rytsikava, Ziuzkova (4) -starting team-, Bentley (13), Inkina, Tarasava (2) and Verameyenka (7).
51 – Spain (9 + 13 + 11 + 18): Ouviña (11), Palau (2), Rodríguez (3), Gil (4) and Ndour (15) -starting team-, Carrera (4), Casas, Cazorla , Conde, Domínguez (6) and Quevedo (6).
Referees: Jelena Tomic (CRO), Geert Jacobs (BEL) and Alexandra Stan (ROM). Without eliminated.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the first day of group A of the women’s Eurobasket played in the Fuente de San Luis pavilion in Valencia before about 1,000 spectators.