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Spain women's national basketball team

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This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Spain men's national basketball team.

Spain
FIBA ranking5 Decrease 1 (26 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1934
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationFEB
CoachMiguel Méndez
Olympic Games
Appearances6
MedalsSilver Silver: (2016)
World Cup
Appearances7
MedalsSilver Silver: (2014)
Bronze Bronze: (2010, 2018)
EuroBasket
Appearances22
MedalsGold Gold: (1993, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Silver Silver: (2007, 2023)
Bronze Bronze: (2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2015)
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
First international
 Spain 31–40 Switzerland 
(Malgrat de Mar, Spain; 16 June 1963)
Biggest win
 Spain 113–42 Fiji 
(Madrid, Spain; 9 June 2008)
Biggest defeat
 Soviet Union 115–42 Spain 
(Treviso, Italy; 12 September 1985)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
Women's World Cup 0 1 2
EuroBasket Women 4 2 5
Mediterranean Games 1 0 3
Total 5 4 10

The Spain women's national basketball team (Spanish: Selección Española de Baloncesto Femenina) represents Spain in international women's basketball competition and are regulated by the Spanish Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Spain. Spain has one of the most successful women's national teams in the world, being the current FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 silver medallists.[2]

History

[edit]

Spain women's basketball team played their first official game in Malgrat de Mar, Barcelona, against Switzerland on 16 June 1963, losing 31–40.[3] They won their first game against the same team two days later, 47–39. It would take six years to play another international friendly game, losing to Cuba 50–70 on 28 September 1969.[4]

Their first official games were in March 1970, trying to qualify for the 1970 EuroBasket, winning their first game against Switzerland 61–44 and losing to Hungary and France. The team qualified for their first major international tournament in their next attempt, the 1974 EuroBasket. After losing their three group stage games, they won their first game in a final tournament against Denmark in the placement matches, finishing in 12th position. Rosa Castillo is considered the best player from the mid-70s to the mid-80s.

Until 1985, Spain played most Eurobasket tournaments, usually finishing around 10th. An important year for the evolution of the team was the celebration on home soil of the 1987 EuroBasket, finishing on 6th position. The team entered their first Summer Olympics qualification in 1988, but failed to qualify. Their first Olympic games were also on home soil in the 1992 Summer Olympics, finishing 5th.

After failing to qualify for the two previous Eurobaskets and having never played a knockout game in a major tournament, the gold medal at the 1993 EuroBasket came as a surprise, beating the newly formed Slovakia in the semi-finals 73–55 and France in the final 63–53. With Blanca Ares as their key player (19 PPG), Spain undoubtedly took advantage of the dissolution of the dominant European teams of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and especially the Soviet Union.

The EuroBasket victory gave Spain the right to participate in the 1994 Women's World Cup for the first time, finishing 8th. Since then, the team has qualified for every World Cup -seven in a row-, winning three medals.

From 2001 up to 2009, Spain entered a loop of winning five consecutive medals in the Eurobaskets (1 silver, 4 bronze) and being eliminated in the quarterfinals in Summer Olympics and World Cups, until they finally won bronze in the 2010 Women's World Cup. From her debut in 1995 to her retirement in 2013, forward Amaya Valdemoro became the leader of the Spanish squad, taking part in 13 tournaments, playing 258 games, winning 7 medals and becoming the top scorer with 2,743 points.

The defeat against Croatia on 26 June in Katowice in the second stage of the 2011 EuroBasket and the consequent absence from the 2012 Olympics has been cited by coaches and players[5][6] as a catalyst for a golden period of seven consecutive medals under coach Lucas Mondelo. After playing the qualification matches in the summer of 2012, Spain went on to win the 2013 EuroBasket with a balance of 9–0. Afterwards, they won silver in the 2014 Women's World Cup, bronze in the 2015 EuroBasket, silver in the 2016 Summer Olympics and gold again in the 2017 EuroBasket. Spain also won the bronze medal at the 2018 Women's World Cup held on home soil in September 2018. In July 2019 Spain successfully defended their European crown by beating France 86–66 in the final of the EuroBasket Women 2019. These seven successful tournaments came to a halt in the summer of 2021, when the team finished 7th in the 2021 EuroBasket played on home soil and 6th in the 2020 Olympic Games. These results are quite commendable, considering that Spain have only competed with the world elite for two decades. This series of results took the Spanish team to be ranked No. 2 in the ranking of FIBA. In the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023, despite a strong performance, they lost to Belgium in the final.[7]

In the senior team for two decades (2002-2021) point guard Laia Palau is the record-holder for most caps (314) and most medals (12) in 19 final tournaments. In the team since 2008, forward Alba Torrens has been regarded as the most talented player of this generation, having won 9 medals in 12 tournaments.

At the Mediterranean Games, Spain won gold in 1991, and bronze in 1993, 2001 and 2005.

Competition record

[edit]
For past match results since 1963, see Spain women's national basketball team results.

Olympic Games

[edit]
Olympic Games Qualifying
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
Canada 1976 Did not enter
Soviet Union 1980
United States 1984
South Korea 1988 Did not qualify 5 2 3
Spain 1992 5th 5 3 2
United States 1996 Did not qualify
Australia 2000
Greece 2004 6th 7 4 3
China 2008 5th 6 3 3 3 2 1
United Kingdom 2012 Did not qualify
Brazil 2016 8 6 2 3 3 0
Japan 2020 6th 4 3 1 3 2 1
France 2024 5th 4 3 1 3 2 1
Total 34 22 12 17 11 6

FIBA Women's World Cup

[edit]
Women's World Cup
Year Position Pld W L
Chile 1953 N/A

(Team did not exist)

Brazil 1957
Soviet Union 1959
Peru 1964 Did not enter
Czechoslovakia 1967
Brazil 1971
Colombia 1975 Did not qualify
South Korea 1979
Brazil 1983
Soviet Union 1986
Malaysia 1990
Australia 1994 8th 8 3 5
Germany 1998 5th 9 5 4
China 2002 5th 9 6 3
Brazil 2006 8th 9 4 5
Czech Republic 2010 9 7 2
Turkey 2014 6 5 1
Spain 2018 7 5 2
Australia 2022 Did not qualify
Germany 2026 To be determined
Total 57 35 22

EuroBasket Women

[edit]
EuroBasket Women Qualification
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
Italy 1938 N/A

(Team didn't exist)

Hungary 1950
Soviet Union 1952
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1954
Czechoslovakia 1956
Poland 1958
Bulgaria 1960
France 1962
Hungary 1964 Did not enter
Romania 1966
Italy 1968
Netherlands 1970 Did not qualify 3 1 2
Bulgaria 1972 Did not enter
Italy 1974 12th 7 1 6 4 3 1
France 1976 10th 7 2 5 3 3 0
Poland 1978 11th 7 2 5 4 3 1
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1980 10th 7 4 3 3 3 0
Italy 1981 Did not qualify
Hungary 1983 11th 7 2 5 4 3 1
Italy 1985 10th 7 3 4
Spain 1987 6th 7 3 4
Bulgaria 1989 Did not qualify 5 3 2
Israel 1991 5 3 2
Italy 1993 5 4 1 5 3 2
Czech Republic 1995 9th 6 2 4
Hungary 1997 5th 8 5 3 5 4 1
Poland 1999 Did not qualify 5 3 2
France 2001 8 5 3 6 6 0
Greece 2003 8 7 1 6 6 0
Turkey 2005 8 5 3
Italy 2007 9 7 2
Latvia 2009 9 8 1
Poland 2011 9th 6 3 3
France 2013 9 9 0 8 6 2
HungaryRomania 2015 10 9 1
Czech Republic 2017 6 5 1 4 4 0
SerbiaLatvia 2019 6 6 0 6 6 0
FranceSpain 2021 7th 6 3 3
IsraelSlovenia 2023 6 4 2 6 6 0
Czech RepublicGermanyItalyGreece 2025 To be determined To be determined
FinlandLithuania 2027
Total 159 99 60 84 68 16

Team

[edit]

Current roster

[edit]

Roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics. A 15-player roster was announced on 7 June 2024.[8] The final roster was revealed on 9 July 2024.[9]

Spain women's national basketball team – 2024 Summer Olympics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PG 4 Mariona Ortiz 32 – (1992-02-28)28 February 1992 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Basket Zaragoza Spain
PF 6 Laura Gil 32 – (1992-04-24)24 April 1992 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) CB Avenida Spain
SF 7 Alba Torrens 34 – (1989-08-30)30 August 1989 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Valencia Basket Spain
PF 8 María Araújo 26 – (1997-08-01)1 August 1997 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Çukurova Basketbol Turkey
SF 9 Queralt Casas 31 – (1992-11-18)18 November 1992 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Valencia Basket Spain
PG 10 Leticia Romero 29 – (1995-05-28)28 May 1995 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) Valencia Basket Spain
SG 11 Leonor Rodríguez 32 – (1991-10-21)21 October 1991 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) CB Avenida Spain
PG 12 Maite Cazorla 27 – (1997-06-18)18 June 1997 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) USK Praha Czech Republic
F 13 Andrea Vilaró 31 – (1993-05-09)9 May 1993 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) CB Avenida Spain
C 17 Megan Gustafson 27 – (1996-12-13)13 December 1996 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Las Vegas Aces United States
C 20 Paula Ginzo 26 – (1998-02-16)16 February 1998 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) CB Jairis Spain
SF 22 María Conde 27 – (1997-01-14)14 January 1997 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) USK Praha Czech Republic
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Spain Luis Rey
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 28 July 2024

Individual records

[edit]
  • Bold denotes players still playing international basketball.
As of 25 June 2023[11]

Top highscorers

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Top highscorers in official games (friendlies not included).

As of 25 June 2023
Players PTS Opponent Event Date Location
Amaya Valdemoro 39  Lithuania 2006 World Cup 2nd Round 2006.09.18 São Paulo (BRA)
Blanca Ares 36  Brazil 1994 World Cup 2nd Round 1994.06.10 Sydney (AUS)
Amaya Valdemoro 33  Brazil 2002 World Cup 2nd Round 2002.09.19 Suzhou (CHN)
Rosa Castillo 32  Belgium 1976 EuroBasket Classification Round 1976.05.25 Ferrand Clermont (FRA)
Rosa Castillo 32  Finland 1980 EuroBasket Classification Round 1980.09.23 Banjaluka (YUG)
Rosi Sánchez 32  China 2002 World Cup Classification Round 2002.09.25 Nanjing (CHN)
Alba Torrens 32  China 2016 Olympics 1st Round 2016.08.10 Rio (BRA)
Marina Ferragut 31  Latvia 1999 EuroBasket qualification 1998.05.15 Daruvar (CRO)
Marta Xargay 31  Ukraine 2019 EuroBasket 1st Round 2019.06.27 Riga (LAT)
Rocío Jiménez 30  England 1978 EuroBasket qualification 1978.03.23 Wolfenbuttel (GER)
Marta Fernández 30  Romania 2003 EuroBasket qualification 2001.11.25 Salamanca (ESP)
Amaya Valdemoro 30  China 2004 Olympics 1st Round 2004.08.16 Athens (GRE)
Alba Torrens 30  Russia 2013 EuroBasket 1st Round 2013.06.15 Vannes (FRA)

Top medallists

[edit]
Further information: Medal winners in Spain women's national basketball team

Most medals won with the national team in Olympic Games, Women's World Cups and EuroBaskets:

Player Medals Details
Laia Palau 12
Silvia Domínguez 9
Laura Nicholls 9
Alba Torrens 9
Anna Cruz 8
Laura Gil 8
Lucila Pascua 8

Head coaches

[edit]

Timeline of head coaches with games and results in final tournaments at the (EuroBasket, Women's World Cup and Olympics)[12]
(*) Results through 25 June 2023.

Years M W L % Name Competition
1963–1971 8 3 5 .375 Peru Cholo Méndez five friendlies, three qualifiers
1974–1978 50 20 30 .400 Spain Josep María Solà 12th 1974 EuroBasket
10th 1976 EuroBasket
11th 1978 EuroBasket
1979 3 1 2 .333 Spain Chema Buceta three friendlies
1979–1984 54 24 30 .444 Spain María Planas 10th 1980 EuroBasket
11th 1983 EuroBasket
1985–1992 177 91 86 .514 Spain Chema Buceta 10th 1985 EuroBasket
6th 1987 EuroBasket
5th 1992 Summer Olympics
1992–1998 98 65 33 .663 Spain Manolo Coloma Gold 1993 EuroBasket
8th 1994 Women's World Cup
9th 1995 EuroBasket
5th 1997 EuroBasket
5th 1998 Women's World Cup
1999–2004 79 66 13 .835 Spain Vicente Rodríguez Bronze 2001 EuroBasket
5th 2002 Women's World Cup
Bronze 2003 EuroBasket
6th 2004 Summer Olympics
2005–2006 33 23 10 .697 Spain Domingo Díaz Bronze 2005 EuroBasket
8th 2006 Women's World Cup
2007–2009 53 39 14 .736 Spain Evaristo Pérez Silver 2007 EuroBasket
5th 2008 Summer Olympics
Bronze 2009 EuroBasket
2010–2011 33 25 8 .758 Spain José Ignacio Hernández Bronze 2010 Women's World Cup
9th 2011 EuroBasket
2015 2 2 0 1.000 Spain Víctor LapeñaA two qualifiers
2012–2021 152 127 25 .836 Spain Lucas Mondelo Gold 2013 EuroBasket
Silver 2014 Women's World Cup
Bronze 2015 EuroBasket
Silver 2016 Summer Olympics
Gold 2017 EuroBasket
Bronze 2018 Women's World Cup
Gold 2019 EuroBasket
7th 2021 EuroBasket
6th 2020 Summer Olympics
2021- 22 19 3 .864 Spain Miguel Méndez Silver 2023 EuroBasket
^A Assistant coach Víctor Lapeña was appointed as head coach for two 2017 EuroBasket qualifiers in November 2015[13]

Youth teams

[edit]
Main article: Spain women's national under-20 basketball team
Main article: Spain women's national under-18 and under-19 basketball team
Main article: Spain women's national under-16 and under-17 basketball team
Europe
U-20 		World
U-19 		Europe
U-18 		World
U-17 		Europe
U-16
2024 Q Q
2023
2022
2021 7th
2019 5th 5th
2018 6th
2017 8th 6th 5th
2016 6th
2015 4th 4th
2014
2013 4th
2012 5th
2011
2010 8th 4th
2009
2008 4th 5th
2007 4th
2006 4th
2005 8th 5th
2004 9th
2003 4th
2002 5th 5th
2001 DNQ 7th
2000 5th 6th
1999
1998
1997 8th 5th
1996 4th
1995 4th
1994
1993 DNQ
1992 5th
1991 9th
1990
1989 5th 4th
1988 6th
1987 9th
1986 12th
1985 7th 9th
1984 4th 7th
1983 8th
1982 8th
1981 9th
1980 10th
1979 DNQ
1978 11th
1977 11th
1976 10th
1975 6th
1973 8th
1965–71 DNQ

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ Spain crowned FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 champions
  3. ^ "Selección Española Absoluta Femenina de Baloncesto". seleccionfemenina.feb.es. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Selección Española Absoluta Femenina de Baloncesto". seleccionfemenina.feb.es. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Eurobasket | Selección española de baloncesto femenino | Una selección de leyenda – RTVE.es". RTVE.es (in European Spanish). 26 June 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  6. ^ "La dolorosa derrota que cambió para siempre a la selección femenina". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  7. ^ FIBA Ranking
  8. ^ "10 subcampeonas de Europa entre las 15 convocadas por Méndez para preparar los Juegos Olímpicos". feb.es. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Las 12 jugadoras que lucharán por el sueño olímpico en París 2024". feb.es. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Team roster: Spain" (PDF). fiba.basketball. p. 11. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  11. ^ Spanish women's national team website
  12. ^ All Coaches (1963–2014)
  13. ^ Marca.com (in Spanish)
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