The Spanish team defeated the Dominican Republic this Friday in Alicante (84-74) in their last friendly test before facing the Pre-Olympic Championship in Valencia next week, an event where Sergio Scariolo’s group arrived as favorites in despite still not finding a regularity in his game.
The Spanish team, with too many gaps and no rhythm, will have to work hard to overcome the tough Dominican team, which for most of the rivalry looks like its opponent in the face and the NBA player Chris Duarte, as its leading scorer with 27 points.
Spain, underprepared and with several absences due to injury, did not feel comfortable on the court in the first minutes, where the Dominican team imposed their physical and athletic game.
Scariolo’s team, which has a lot of scoring difficulties, will have to be serious in defense to prevent Néstor ‘Ché’ García’s team from escaping the scoreboard.
Vargas and, above all, Duarte did a lot of damage in the Spanish attack, which closed the first quarter on the scoreboard (23-24).
The departure of Aldama and Brizuela has given the Spanish team the offensive boost it needs to compete against a rival that is increasingly convinced of its possibilities.
The Caribbean team opened a five-point gap, but Spain held on in defense to dry up the Dominican team in the final minutes.
The fit De Larrea and Pradilla gave Spain the energy and enthusiasm needed to wake up in time and enter the break with an advantage (43-38).
After going through the locker room, Spain, with Lorenzo Brown at the controls, played with more offensive fluidity, although they were unable to separate themselves on the scoreboard from a Dominican Republic led by an inspired Montero.
Sergio Scariolo’s team, which was irregular in its game and had many problems marking the territory in both zones, once again fell into mistakes and allowed its rival to continue to hold the game.
Rydy Fernández’s triple, at the buzzer, allowed the Spanish team to gain a lead of six points (63-57) to face the final quarter with some peace of mind.
Already in the last quarter, Spain appealed to the best version of some of its pillars, such as Garuba, Aldama and Alberto Díaz, to break the game (71-60) in the remaining seven minutes.
The last defensive outburst of Scariolo’s group ended in a loss to the Dominican Republic, where the game seemed too long (84-74).
Data sheets
Spain-Dominican Republic, 84-74
84 – Spain (23+20+20+21): Brown (14), Llull (5), López-Arostegui (2), Juancho Hernangómez (6) and Willy Hernangómez (6) –starting five- Brizuela (8), Alberto Díaz (6), Garuba (7), Aldama (7), Parra (5), Pradilla (2), Rudy Fernández (9) and De Larrea (7).
74 – Dominican Republic (24+14+19+17): Feliz (5), Núñez (8), Henríquez (5), Duarte (27) and Santos (4) – starting five – Montero (13), Liz (5 ), De León, Vargas (6), Polanco and Peña (1).
Referees: Luis Miguel Castillo, Arnau Padrós and Raúk Zamorano. They removed Feliz, from the Dominican Republic, by five personal.
Incidents: friendly preparation match for the Pre-Olympic Championship played at the Alicante Technical Center in front of around 4,500 spectators. At the start of the meeting, a minute of silence was observed for the death of José Ramón Ramos, former player of the Spanish basketball team.
Source: La Verdad
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