The Spanish women’s 3×3 basketball team defeated Ukraine 18-15 on Saturday and has thus qualified for the semi-finals of the European Championship, which is being held in Vienna (Austria) and where they will now face the Polish team.
Gracia Alonso de Armiño, Juana Camilión, Vega Gimeno and Sandra Ygueravide, the current Olympic runners-up, started well and quickly took the lead. A double by Ygueravide made it 3-0 on the scoreboard and then a drive by her, on the left side, was rewarded and she forced the foul, scoring the additional free throw (5-1).
Gimeno also shined with a double that made it 7-2 and later with another basket from the perimeter to make it 12-4. Then the Ukrainian team, formed by Krystyna Filevych along with Anzhelika Liashko, Miriam Uro-Nilie and Tetiana Yurkevichus, had a glimmer of reaction.
Although Camilión missed a free throw with the score at 12-6, Yurkevichus immediately slammed the ball into his feet and lost possession. However, Spain’s offensive output had dropped and their rivals came within 14-8. Alonso de Armiño then ended that bad streak with a jumper from the spot.
Despite Ukraine’s attacks with several mid- and long-distance shots, including a double by Liashko to make it 18-15 with 24.6 minutes remaining in regulation time, the red-and-yellow defence worked well to avoid any scares and seal victory. In the semi-finals, Spain will face the Polish team, which previously eliminated Latvia (19-17).