Spain women's national basketball team

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 European champions, Olympic runners-up, and World Cup bronze medalists.[2]

 Spain
FIBA ranking3 (12 February 2020)[1]
Joined FIBA1934
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationFEB
CoachLucas Mondelo
Olympic Games
Appearances4
Medals Silver: (2016)
Women's World Cup
Appearances7
Medals Silver: (2014)
Bronze: (2010, 2018)
EuroBasket Women
Appearances21
Medals Gold: (1993, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Silver: (2007)
Bronze: (2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2015)
Home
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 1 5
Mediterranean Games 1 0 3
Total 5 3 10

History

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 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 semifinals 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 and up to 2009 Spain entered in 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 topscorer 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. 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 results are quite commendable, considering that Spain have only competed with the world elite for less than two decades. This series of results has taken the Spanish team to be ranked No. 2 in the ranking of FIBA.[7]

In the senior team for almost two decades, captain and record-holder for most caps and most medals, point guard Laia Palau has been a constant presence in final tournaments with 12 medals in 17 final tournaments. In the team since 2008, forward Alba Torrens is regarded as the most talented player of this generation, having won 8 medals in 10 tournaments.

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

Competition record
For all past match results of the national team since 1963, including friendlies, see team's results page

Olympic Games

Olympic Games Qualifying
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
1976 Did not enter
1980
1984
1988 Did not qualify 5 2 3
1992 5th 5 3 2
1996 Did not qualify
2000
20046th 7 4 3
2008 5th 6 3 3 3 2 1
2012Did not qualify
2016 862 3 3 0
2020Qualified 3 2 1
Total261610 14 9 5

FIBA Women's World Cup

Women's World Cup
Year Position Pld W L
1953N/A

(Team did not exist)

1957
1959
1964 Did not enter
1967
1971
1975 Did not qualify
1979
1983
1986
1990
1994 8th 8 3 5
1998 5th 9 5 4
2002 5th 9 6 3
2006 8th 9 4 5
2010 9 7 2
2014 6 5 1
2018 7 5 2
2022To be determined
Total573522

EuroBasket Women

EuroBasket Women Qualification
Year Position Pld W L Pld W L
1938 N/A

(Team didn't exist)
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964 Did not enter
1966
1968
1970 Did not qualify 3 1 2
1972 Did not enter
1974 12th 7 1 6 4 3 1
1976 10th 7 2 5 3 3 0
1978 11th 7 2 5 4 3 1
1980 10th 7 4 3 3 3 0
1981 Did not qualify
1983 11th 7 2 5 4 3 1
1985 10th 7 3 4
1987 6th 7 3 4
1989 Did not qualify 5 3 2
1991 5 3 2
1993 5 4 1 5 3 2
1995 9th 6 2 4
1997 5th 8 5 3 5 4 1
1999 Did not qualify 5 3 2
2001 8 5 3 6 6 0
2003 8 7 1 6 6 0
2005 8 5 3
2007 9 7 2
2009 9 8 1
2011 9th 6 3 3
2013 9 9 0 8 6 2
2015 10 9 1
2017 6 5 1 4 4 0
2019 6 6 0 6 6 0
2021 Qualified as co-host Qualified as co-host
Total1479255766016

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2020 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[8]

Spain women's national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
PF 4 Laura Nicholls 30 – (1989-02-26)26 February 1989 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Fenerbahçe
PG 5 Cristina Ouviña 29 – (1990-09-18)18 September 1990 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) USK Prague
G 6 Sílvia Domínguez 33 – (1987-01-31)31 January 1987 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) Perfumerías Avenida
PG 7 Alba Torrens 30 – (1989-08-30)30 August 1989 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) UMMC Ekaterinburg
PG 9 Laia Palau 40 – (1979-09-10)10 September 1979 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Uni Girona CB
PG 10 Marta Xargay 29 – (1990-12-20)20 December 1990 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Uni Girona CB
SG 11 Leonor Rodríguez 28 – (1991-10-21)21 October 1991 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Famila Schio
PF 13 Tamara Abalde 30 – (1989-02-09)9 February 1989 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Valencia Basket
SG 18 Queralt Casas 27 – (1992-11-18)18 November 1992 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Valencia Basket
SF 22 María Conde 23 – (1997-01-14)14 January 1997 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) CCC Polkowice
C 23 Nogaye Lo 23 – (1996-08-23)23 August 1996 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Lointek Gernika
C 24 Laura Gil 27 – (1992-04-24)24 April 1992 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Perfumerías Avenida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Madelén Urieta
  • Isaac Fernández
Legend
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 6 February 2020

Individual records
  • Bold denotes players still playing international basketball.
As of 8 July 2019[9]

Top highscorers

Top highscorers in official games (friendlies not included).

As of 8 July 2019
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
For a full list of all the 55 medallists with the senior team, see 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
Laura Nicholls 9
Anna Cruz 8
Silvia Domínguez 8
Lucila Pascua 8
Alba Torrens 8

Head coaches

Timeline of head coaches with games and results in final tournaments at the (EuroBasket, Women's World Cup and Olympics)[10]
(*) Results through 9 February 2020.

Years M W L % Name Competition
1963–1971 8 3 5 .375 Cholo Méndez five friendlies, three qualifiers
1974–1978 50 20 30 .400 Josep María Solà 12th 1974 EuroBasket
10th 1976 EuroBasket
11th 1978 EuroBasket
1979 3 1 2 .333 Chema Buceta three friendlies
1979–1984 54 24 30 .444 María Planas 10th 1980 EuroBasket
11th 1983 EuroBasket
1985–1992 177 91 86 .514 Chema Buceta 10th 1985 EuroBasket
6th 1987 EuroBasket
5th 1992 Summer Olympics
1992–1998 98 65 33 .663 Manolo Coloma 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 Vicente Rodríguez 2001 EuroBasket
5th 2002 Women's World Cup
2003 EuroBasket
6th 2004 Summer Olympics
2005–2006 33 23 10 .697 Domingo Díaz 2005 EuroBasket
8th 2006 Women's World Cup
2007–2009 53 39 14 .736 Evaristo Pérez 2007 EuroBasket
5th 2008 Summer Olympics
2009 EuroBasket
2010–2011 33 25 8 .758 José Ignacio Hernández 2010 Women's World Cup
9th 2011 EuroBasket
2015 2 2 0 1.000 Víctor LapeñaA two qualifiers
2012– 135 117 18 .867 Lucas Mondelo 2013 EuroBasket
2014 Women's World Cup
2015 EuroBasket
2016 Summer Olympics
2017 EuroBasket
2018 Women's World Cup
2019 EuroBasket
^A Assistant coach Víctor Lapeña was appointed as head coach for two 2017 EuroBasket qualifiers in November 2015[11]

Youth teams
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
2019 5th 5th Q
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

References
  1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  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 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. http://seleccionfemenina.feb.es/2020/2/3/baloncesto/espana-prepara-torrejon-preolimpico-belgrado/82237.aspx
  9. Spanish women's national team website
  10. All Coaches (1963–2014)
  11. Marca.com (in Spanish)
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