The women's team starts its new stage with victory

Miguel Méndez's internationals beat Italy (60-49) in the first triangular match of the 'Camino al Futuro' tour

MADRID, 1 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish women's basketball team beat Italy on Wednesday (60-49) in their first triangle test of the 'Camino al Futuro' tour, a match in which Miguel Méndez's internationals began to forge the new era of the ' Familia', showing their defensive superiority but leaving doubts in the turnovers.

The national team began its new path at the Javier Imbroda Pavilion in Melilla, with the aim of consolidating a new block that will opt for the medals as soon as possible, after not qualifying for Tokyo 2020 and the World Basketball Championship, which will be played at the end of September. in Australia.

Thus, the Spanish team presented new faces, such as point guard Laura Peña, shooting guard Ángela Salvadores and centers Lola Pendande and Nerea Hermosa, while they recovered a crucial player, such as center Astou Ndour, who was in charge of leading a team without the veterans Cristina Ouviña and Laura Gil, casualties due to injury.

The Spanish took control of the game from the first minutes, although they failed to exemplify their superiority on the scoreboard. However, the Italians were frustrated by the defensive performance of the hosts, but they did not get off the hook thanks to the numerous losses in attack of the hosts, who showed the lack of gear between them.

The first half was marked by the defensive solidity of the Spanish team and their game in transition. With an unbalanced Astou Ndour, Italy could only score four points in the second quarter, with a very low shooting percentage (eight field goals and one triple).

Despite being superior in the game, Spain could not find an easy way to score and increased their losses in the third quarter (19). This lack of shooting between the players activated the visitors and allowed them to win the partial (7-12) to continue with options in the last part of the match.

Italy tightened their grip and reduced the lead to five points with three minutes to go. But the Spanish took advantage of the free throws and ended up with a comfortable victory (60-49) in their first match of the triangle.

Spain's next game will be this Friday (9:00 p.m.) against Belgium, one of its great rivals in the 'Old Continent', which won the bronze medal in the last Eurobasket. Later, the internationals will head to Guadalajara where they will return to focus to prepare their last two games against Slovenia and, again, against Italy, both on Italian soil.