It is difficult to find a crazier scenario than qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time with a last-second basket… and with your back turned! The feat was achieved two months ago by the Spanish women’s 3×3 team and the author of that bingo was Gracia Alonso de Armiño. It was the last action of the decisive match of the pre-Olympic tournament, against Canada. The tie was 18-18. Possession for Spain. “The play was intended for my teammates Sandra and Vega,” says the protagonist, “but the rival defense changed the plan. The ball came to me. There were four seconds left. I had to shoot with two Canadians on top of me, they almost blocked me and I pumped the shot more than usual. I knew it wouldn’t go in and I went for the rebound. I tapped it as best I could to throw the ball to one side. There was no time left and the oxygen was low. But I had the semicircle on the court as a reference. There was no other option but to shoot with my back turned, a perpendicular shot. I didn’t even have time to think, it was pure intuition. And it went in! It was madness, euphoria. Every time I see the play, it still surprises me. That’s the essence of 3×3, everything changes immediately. I never imagined I could make a basket like that in my life.”
Acrobatics gave the women’s team a ticket to its first Games after missing out on Tokyo, where this basketball modality debuted, symbolizing the IOC’s commitment to street sports. It is three against three on half court, in a game decided in 10 minutes, or before in favor of the team that reaches 21 points. Baskets from behind the three-point line are worth two points; baskets inside, one. A spectacle.
Spain debuts today on the La Concorde court (21.00) against Azerbaijan, the first duel of a round-robin round-robin that includes Australia, the United States, France, China, Germany and Canada. The top two qualify for the semi-finals, the last two are eliminated and the third to sixth place teams play two quarter-final matches. The women’s team (the men’s team did not qualify) is made up of Vega Gimeno (33 years old, Zaragoza player), Sandra Ygueravide (39; Girona), Juana Camilión (25; Estudiantes) and Gracia Alonso de Armiño (31; Estudiantes). The four of them have changed in recent summers from the 5×5 basketball that they train for throughout the season to this 3×3 that is almost a new sport because of how different it is from the traditional game. “Here, a lot happens in 10 minutes, everything can change in 15 seconds. It’s fast, intense, very entertaining, especially for people who watch it live, it’s addictive,” explains coach Ana Junyer.
“It is a very dynamic discipline, very physically demanding, the level of contact is higher, more is allowed, you have to be prepared to compete with a lot of impact, it is more physical because it is street basketball. Fatigue weighs heavily. Until you play you don’t see how different it is,” adds Gracia Alonso. The captain, Vega Gimeno, sets herself the minimum objective of reaching the quarterfinals: “We have been fighting for this for a long time. We took a very hard blow by being left out of Tokyo. Now we are in a very good moment, we see ourselves with a chance of winning a medal.”
Gracia Alonso de Armiño also raises the expectations of the Spanish team. “We have a very good squad. We are aiming for the best despite the difficulty. We have talent, we know each other and we are born competitors,” she says. However, she does not want to hear about another basket with her back to the goal: “I wouldn’t risk it again, I’ll make it on the first try!”
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