The Spanish team will be in the Paris Olympic Games. The team led by Miguel Méndez sealed their classification yesterday in the last day of the pre-Olympic, in which they beat Hungary (73-72) in a match in which they came back from 22 points. The Spanish played their last match in Sopron (Hungary) with the ticket to Paris already in their pocket, thanks to Japan's victory against Canada (82-86) half an hour before they took to the court. Spain's victory allowed the Canadian team, led by the Spanish Víctor Lapeña, to achieve its ticket to Paris.
The locals had an overturned pavilion, packed for the match in which they were playing for their first place in the Games since 1984. Spain's defense, emblem of the current European runners-up, was fractured in a first half in which the Hungarians took control of the match thanks to some unusual shooting percentages (62% compared to 29% for Spain). Led by an impeccable Agnes Struder (17 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists), they reached +22 (27-49) in the third quarter. The Hungarian point guard scored the best basket of the game with a three-pointer from the center of the field.
Miguel Méndez's men improved after the break, but the gap opened by Hungary seemed unattainable. The shooting percentages improved and the bench entries of Megan Gustafson and María Conde sharpened the offense. Despite the efforts, the lead on the scoreboard at the end of the third quarter was 14 points for Hungary (50-64), which kept Spain at bay thanks to the interior power of its pivots, Virag Kiss (12 points) and Bernadett Hatar (14).
But Spain reappeared at the last minute and began a frantic comeback in the last quarter, which began with a 17-0 run to get within just one point (63-64). María Conde, author of 16 goals without missing a basket, was fundamental in the minutes of madness in which Hungary could not find a way to pierce the Spanish defense again. In a heart-stopping finale, Ortiz put Spain ahead from the free-kick line and the defense shone again to seal their second victory in this pre-Olympic tournament and achieve their goal: Spain will compete in its sixth Olympic Games in Paris.
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