The women’s team returns a year later. The setback at the Eurobasket in Valencia left the team without a ticket to the World Cup in Australia, something that cleared up their schedule for this year, without a commitment in February (Pre-World Cup) or in the world event in September. After the 2021 continental tournament and the Tokyo Games, Spain played the first Window, qualifying for the European Championships next summer, in November 2021. Triumphs against Hungary (62-66) and Romania (107-52). The Selection had not played an official match since then. In total, he had been on hiatus for 375 days.
The first rival in this second Window, and perhaps definitive (with two victories it would be classified), is Iceland (20:30, Tdp), 62nd in the FIBA ranking and a team that has never qualified for a Eurobasket. Therefore, Miguel Méndez’s men should not have any problem to add their third victory for the Ventanas against a rival that, for example, lost against Hungary by 57 points (58-115). Her star is Sara Run Hinriksdottir, a 26-year-old forward who is in Italy (Faenza) this season and has been voted the best player in her country for the past two years.
Faced with such a rival, the National Team must set other objectives. Alba Torrens debuts as captain after the withdrawal of Laia Palau in the summer of 2021 and the absence of Silvia Domínguez, between cottons due to an injury. The Mallorcan, who has returned to Spain this year to play for Valencia Basket, is the oldest (33 years and 183 caps) of a team with only two other thirty-year-olds: Queralt Casas (30) and Leo Rodríguez (31), who She is the other player who has played more than a hundred games wearing the Spain shirt (101).
Time passes and the National Team has been rejuvenated with the generations of ’97 (María Conde, Maite Cazorla and María Araújo) and ’98 (Paula Guinzo, Irati Etxarri and Laura Peña) at the controls A less well-rounded team, but in which Astou Ndour returns to be the benchmark inside (he will not play today due to the coach’s decision), and who wants to grow with a view to next year, because the Eurobasket in Israel and Slovenia awaits.