Alonso desperate to avoid more Quarter-Final woe

HELSINKI (FIBA U20 European Championship 2016) - Francisco Alonso and Spain must overcome their Quarter-Final curse - as well as Latvia - if they are to challenge for a FIBA U20 European Championship medal.

Juan Orenga’s side cruised into the last eight with an 87-66 defeat of Hungary in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. 

But is has been far from plain sailing for the Spanish.

They needed a miracle buzzer-beater from Marc Garcia to see off France in their opener before falling to hosts Finland at the end of overtime in their second game.

A one-sided win against Israel secured top spot in Group B and paved the way for another trip to the last eight.

For several members of the squad, such as Alonso, this clash with Latvia also poses a mental test, knowing he has fallen at this stage in three of the four international youth competitions he has competed in. 

"We have a great challenge for this generation, getting to the Quarter-Finals, because most times we have played them, we have lost," said the University of North Carolina Greensboro guard.

"I think this year we have a really good chance to get to the Semi-Finals and from there, keep working hard and try to fight for a medal."

Spain did take silver at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2015, with Alonso averaging nine minutes of action per-game.

This followed last-eight exits at the FIBA U16 and U18 European Championships and the FIBA U19 World Championship.

But Alonso insists there is something different about the group this time around.

"This is a really complete team," he added. "We are really working well, we have found our style of play and the results are coming.

"Our chemistry is really good. It doesn’t matter what we did last year now. We are in good shape and I think we can get to the next stage."

With former senior national team coach Orenga at the helm, Alonso feels the Spanish are growing as the tournament goes on, learning from the adversity of their opening two games.

And this should stand them in good stead ahead of facing a Latvian side that came through similar difficulties in Group C. 

"Those games really helped us," Alonso said. "They were really close games and now we have beaten two teams by 20 points. 

"We have been in those really difficult situations and from those we have learned how to keep going and get the 'W'."

FIBA