Spain accelerates against Mali in the penultimate step towards the World Cup

The Spanish women’s basketball team beat Mali (97-58) this Saturday in the penultimate friendly in preparation for the World Cup, and within an intensive at the Príncipe Felipe Pavilion in Zaragoza that will measure them this Sunday against China.

Miguel Méndez’s team took advantage of this penultimate test to continue testing and finding a great connection in their players, despite the atypical nature of the call. Waiting for the five WNBA players, although Awa Fam and María Conde were already on the bench, the Lugo coach has the rest of the players well-rounded, so choosing the 12 will be complicated.

Against Mali, Spain once again showed a lot of power on the rebound, María Araújo rated 19, although among those stars on the other side of the pond there are missing centers like Raquel Carrera, Megan Gustafson and Fam herself, and also a lot of success from the three-point line (16/25). In addition, the game direction was very safe with Mariona Ortiz, Iyana Martín and Maite Cazorla.

The confidence of the triple and the authority of Spain gave a good advantage already in the first quarter (25-14), where Alba Torrens acted as captain to also lead the way in the return to a World Cup eight years later. Despite some losses, the downside of the match, although also a result of the high pace and the tests on the court, the team amassed a good advantage in the first half.

Méndez’s men overcame the physical defense of the Africans well with a powerful one-on-one, in addition to that exterior success. Aminata Sangare, formerly of Bàsquet Zaragoza and now at Leganés, was the best of the Africans, who had no response to the host gale. Martín and Cazorla went into the locker room with double-digit scores, and a 50-26 score for a Spain that did not want to lift its foot, with less than a week left until its debut in the World Cup.

Torrens, who wants his fourth Mundobasket medal, once again led the way in the restart, and the Spanish bases passed over Mali, which will be Méndez’s second rival in the World Cup. The European runner-up left with 75-45, a moment to finish giving all the players their role and complete the fourth victory in four games on the tour.

As a test for the double ration with which the World Cup will begin, Friday, September 4 against Germany and the next day in the morning against this Mali, the Spanish team faces this Sunday without almost a break against a China that will also be in the big event of the summer, the last test for one of the favorites for the podium.