Spain broke the streak of five consecutive defeats – the worst since 1980 – in the friendly that faced the Dominican Republic in Alicante (84-74), and from which few conclusions can be drawn, except that when the team defends with intensity by Sergio Scariolo, things are going better for him. For many minutes, the Spanish team let itself go on defense, and there the Dominicans had too many opportunities to score under the basket. When seriousness prevailed, Spain managed to stretch the score in its favor. After the defeat against Italy, in the previous friendly, some doubts arose about the performance ahead of the pre-Olympic.
With an initial five that the Italian coach repeated at the beginning of the second half, the Spanish team initially tried to distance themselves with three-pointers, but they missed their aim (2 of 11 in the first quarter), and the Dominicans took advantage of it. to get closer on the scoreboard and take the lead, playing to the rhythm of Chris Duarte, the shooting guard of the Sacramento Kings, who ended up scoring 27 points and becoming the only resistance for the Caribbean when fouls began to rage.
As expected in a test like this, Scariolo was testing various options on the court. He gave minutes to many players and made his debut for Valladolid point guard Sergio De Larrea, 18 years old and 2.03 meters tall, who made his debut with an unusual appearance, and who scored a triple in the last second of the first half. to put distance on the scoreboard in favor of Spain (43-38). The Spanish promise played the recently concluded season in the LEB Plata League with l’Horta Godella, averaging 13.7 points.
With ups and downs, in the second half, the Spaniards widened the gap, which went to 15 points, despite the poor performance of almost everyone, although Lorenzo Brown, who returned to the national team after arranging his signing with Panathinaikos, made the difference with his 14 points, while Usman Garuba stood out on the rebound (6) to consolidate Spain’s victory, which next week will play to be in Paris, against Lebanon first and Angola later in the first phase.
On Sunday, Scariolo will give the final list of twelve players, although he already announced that the promising De Larrea, who had attended the concentration as a guest, will leave it after the game against the Dominicans. The Italian must make two discards, which will depend on the condition of Alex Abrines, who, with a fiber injury, could be left out. The one who will return in time draft In the United States, point guard Juan Núñez will reinforce the team in the tournament that offers a ticket to the Olympic Games.
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