European clean sweep adds an incentive for Spain

MADRID (FIBA U18 Women's European Championship 2017) – With FIBA EuroBasket Women gold already snapped up along with success at U20 level, the prospect of a clean sweep this summer is an alluring one for Spain.

While taking a title at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup would require a potentially immovable barrier in the road in the form of USA, finishing the job at European level is not out of the question.

Last year in Sopron, Spain reached the Final but were edged out by France. This time around they are hoping their team ethic will get them one step further and continue a golden run across all competitions.

Head coach Madalen Urieta is looking for her players to take inspiration from the achievements of the U20 side in Matosinhos recently.

She stated: "There is a lot of work behind, clubs, coaches, institutions and the U20 team have marked the way.

"They played as a team, with a nice, dynamic game – they made us feel proud and have served us with a reference point.

"Our own signs of identity must be shown by being aggressive in defense and using speed for fastbreak baskets in transition."

Interestingly, the 1999 Spanish generation has yet to reach the high-points attained by many of their peers and it is a fact not lost on Coach Urieta.  Although, in forward Sofia Galeron they have a power source in the paint, while the anticipated long-awaited return of Iris Junio after her injury nightmares could be intriguing. 

She continued: "This is a group that has not had particularly special luck in the official tournaments they have played, whether it was the FIBA U16 Women's European Championship in Portugal or the FIBA U17 Women's World Championship in Zaragoza.

"They have built some good championships, but so far resisted the prize of climbing onto the podium. Hopefully it serves as a motivation to play a good role in Hungary.

"The important thing about this group is that we do not have a determining player averaging 20 points per game - it is a very balanced block of players," concluded the playcaller.

Spain will take part in an important preparation tournament on home soil this weekend in Logrono against Belgium, Turkey and Russia.

FIBA