The Spanish women’s basketball team kicked off its preparation phase for the Paris Olympic Games with a dominant 59-47 victory against Turkey. The young duo of Iyana Martin and Awa Fam made their debuts, with Martin scoring 5 points and Fam contributing 4 points off the bench.
Spain started strong, racing out to a 7-0 lead that forced Turkey’s coach, Ekrem Memnun, to call a timeout after just 1 minute and 30 seconds of play. The national team maintained their lead until midway through the first half, when their offense slowed and Turkey closed the gap to 13-10.
Despite being frustrated by the slowdown, Spain’s coach, Miguel Méndez, stopped the game to regroup his team. Spain then pulled away again, using two technical fouls called against Turkey to increase their lead to 21-10 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Spain’s defense tightened, allowing Turkey to score only 2 free throws in 6 minutes. This allowed Spain to break the game open, despite missing several easy shots (43-27).
Turkey coach Ekrem Memnun sought a reaction from his team with a timeout, and Fitik scored the first three-pointer of the game. Spain, however, had already secured the win with a score of 48-30.
In the final minutes, Turkey narrowed the score slightly, but Spain had already established a comfortable lead and held on for the 59-47 victory.
Key statistics:
* Spain (16+17+15+11): Mariona Ortiz (2), Leonor Rodríguez (6), María Conde (11), Laura Gil (2), and Paula Ginzo (8) – starting lineup – María Araujo (3), Casas (10), Leticia Romero (6), Andrea Vilaró (2), Martín (5), Hermosa, and Awa Fam (4)
* Türkiye (10+15+7+15): Erdogan (2), Fitik (14), Bayram (13), Guner (6), and Yildizhan (9) – starting lineup – Akalan, Kurtulmus, Ozen, Atas (2), Gul, Uzunoglu (1), Yilmaz, and Simsek ()
* Referees: Alberto Sixto, Sergio Manuel, and Sandra Sánchez
* Incidents: Match of the Vigo Tournament held at the As Travesas pavilion in front of approximately 2,500 spectators.
