The Portuguese women’s basketball team is gearing up for a couple of tough tests. They face off against Spain on Tuesday and Switzerland two days later, both at 7 pm, in a special tournament in Viana do Castelo. These matches are crucial in fine-tuning their preparation for the European championships, which kick off next week in the Czech Republic.
Coach Ricardo Vasconcelos sees these games as a chance to fix past mistakes before their Euro debut against reigning champions Belgium on June 19. “We’ve been preparing for about four weeks,” he says. “We want to see how many errors we can correct from our early games before the official competition starts.” The team is focused on more than just winning – they’re using these friendly matches to iron out their strategy.
Portugal has a tough opponent in Spain, the 2023 runner-up and a top contender for the title. Their match against Switzerland, ranked 49th in the FIBA rankings, should be more manageable. Coach Vasconcelos believes his team is more cohesive now than in their recent losses to Slovenia and Serbia.
“We have a better sense of teamwork now,” he notes. “Against a stronger team like Spain, we need to push ourselves to the limit every second to keep up. With Switzerland, we’ll face a more evenly matched opponent, where every possession counts.” The team wants to test their skills in different scenarios – chasing a stronger rival and dominating a more evenly matched one.
After the Viana do Castelo tournament, the Portuguese team will play another friendly against Switzerland behind closed doors on Saturday. Then, they’ll head to the European championships in Brno, where they’ll face off against Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Montenegro in Group C.
Upcoming Matches
- Portugal vs. Spain – Tuesday, 7 pm
- Portugal vs. Switzerland – Thursday, 7 pm
- Portugal vs. Switzerland (behind closed doors) – Saturday
European Championships Schedule
- June 19: Portugal vs. Belgium
- June 20: Portugal vs. Czech Republic
- June 22: Portugal vs. Montenegro