TOULOUSE (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) – Spain welcomed their place in a balanced Group B at the draw for the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in Toulouse, France on Friday and immediately outlined what must be done in order to meet their high expectations.
Spain, who won last year’s U16 European Championship in Kaunas, Lithuania, are hoping to not only build, but also add to that success this summer.
The Spaniards were drawn in Group B along with Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China and Mali. Group A, meanwhile, consists of Canada, France, Japan, Russia, Turkey and the USA.
“The two groups are well balanced,” said Elisabeth Cebrian, a coordinator with the Women’s Division of the Spanish Basketball Federation. “In each group, there are three very good teams, two good ones and one that’s not as good.”
Spain must now follow a specific path in order to increase their chances of success in the tournament.
“We need to finish in the top two so that we can make it to the quarter-finals and avoid having to play the best teams from Group A at that early stage of the competition,” Cebrian added.
“The USA and France are very good teams and we must try to avoid them in the quarter-finals. France also have the advantage of playing in front of their fans. So they are very dangerous opponents.”
While Spain will have most of their core players from last summer’s triumph back in the fold, there will one big and notable change in the absence of head coach José Ignacio Hernandez who earlier this month was put in charge of the senior women’s national team.
The search for his replacement is still ongoing but whoever his replacement is will not change the strategies and tactics that have proved successful for Spanish teams in recent years.
“The things we like to do and that have been successful for us – play strong defence and try to play as much fastbreak as possible – will stay in place, no matter who the new coach is,” warned Cebrian.
There is also the hope that Mario Lopez, who was on Hernandez’s coaching staff last summer, will help his replacement by resuming his duties as an assistant.
FIBA
