Silvia Domínguez (36 years old and 1.65 m) is the captain of a Selection that touches the semifinals with her fingers. But for this, Spain must defeat Germany this Thursday (8:45 p.m., Tdp). The base spoke about the duel with the media present in Ljubljana (Slovenia), including As.
This is a game for veteran players, to pull stripes of veteran people who have been in many of these.
The twelve of us are really looking forward to this quarterfinal match. We always say that this is the key match in a championship, the one that leads you to fight for medals or not. We know the importance of what is experienced in the quarterfinals and what we want to do.
You who have lived so many, do you still have that itch the day before?
Yes. And even more so because of the last two quarters that we had that came up tails. We really want it to be expensive this time, put everything we have. They are games that in the end if someone has to play 35 minutes, he plays them; if another does not step on the floor, she does not; but in the end we all want to move this forward. It is a game in which there are always a lot of nerves, which may not be the best basketball but you have to win in any way.
What can you tell us about Germany?
It is a team of many centimeters. At one point, in the round of 16, we saw that they had four players over 1.90 and we know what that implies in matchup. We have to keep looking inside ourselves, reveal our identity, the virtues we have. This Wednesday’s session will give us a lot to think about in the game. The staff prepares everything with a lot of awareness and gives us a lot of tactical help ahead of the game. I am sure that they will have studied Germany to the millimeter, its fractures and it will be necessary to attack there.
The little ones are going to have a lot of prominence in defense.
We come from playing against Greece, against two players who were dominating a lot in the championship, in which the insiders did an incredible job and the little ones also helped a lot so that those inside balls were not easy, they collapsed a lot. Against Germany it will be much more complicated because they are much bigger and they will surely have an easier time passing, but in the end it is Spain: that competitive gene, turning weaknesses into strength. It is what we have always tried. And try to alleviate that difference of centimeters this Thursday in some way.
He still has a purple cheekbone, this is a war.
Yes, in the end they are things that happen. Every game you accumulate things like that. We are in the quarterfinals and if you have to turn the other cheek but the result is the game.
As a captain, what do you say to your teammates, especially those who have less European tours?
They are usually very tense matches, reaching tight finals. That basketball does not shine, but that it is the game that you have to win, that you want to win because it takes you to another level of the championship. That in five minutes you are not going to win the game, but you are not going to lose it either. That we know that the staff will prepare everything very well. And as we have done up to now: trust the game plan, follow it to the letter. The important thing is to reach minute 39:30 with an advantage on the scoreboard or at least while in the game and, from there, win it. Above all, it calms down at times when we choke and it becomes more difficult for us and vice versa, that when we are well we continue to be a roller to try that they have no options.
Is it risky to talk about medals?
Tomorrow at 23:00 we will talk about it. When we started the Eurobasket we talked about those places for the Pre-Olympic and we set ourselves the goal. And once that’s achieved, we’ll talk about whether we fight for medals.
Are you still the revolution?
Yes, and even more so now that we are coming to a championship with some casualties, perhaps with what happened two years ago, that Spain of always being in the finals, used to winning, is lost a bit. And you have to start from scratch. We did it little by little, we are in those quarterfinals and we want to continue telling this story.