Spar Girona continues to surpass itself and reaches its first EuroLeague semifinals

Spar Girona always seems to perform beyond its possibilities. Thus, step by step, it has reached different milestones. The latest, the EuroLeague semifinals after entering its first Final 6. The Catalan team arrived in Zaragoza with considerable absences, but Roberto Íñiguez, an expert in this type of match, a coach who has been in eight Final 4s, who has been a champion, knew how to make the most of his resources, with four players exceeding 30 minutes of play, to eliminate Umana Reyer Venezia (70-64). Now they face Fenerbahçe in the semifinals, which boasts by far the best roster, with stars like Emma Meesseman, Gabby Williams, Julie Allemand, and Iliana Rupert. As if that were not enough, the Turkish club has signed, just for this final stretch, Breanna Stewart, three-time WNBA winner, triple Olympic and world champion, and with two EuroLeagues.

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The Spanish team, with a Chloe Bibby experiencing physical discomfort (noticeable in her performance with 1/8 field goals), relied on its backbone, formed by point guard Klara Holm (14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists), forward Juste Jocyté (18 points, five rebounds, and six assists), and center Mariam Coulibaly (19 points and 15 rebounds). But equally decisive were the good minutes of Ainhoa López in a great second quarter for Spar Girona (20-9) and the work of Laura Quevedo and Carolina Guerrero. Íñiguez used eight players, while Venezia’s coach, Andrea Mazzon, a classic of European basketball, was able to use eleven of his.

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Girona did not stray from the path laid out by Íñiguez, an old fox of the EuroLeague, and based its game on Holm’s speed, Jocyté’s versatility, and Coulibaly’s interior power, as well as the mandate to go like piranhas for the rebound and many minutes of excellent defensive work that kept Venezia at bay for almost the entire game.

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