A devastating last quarter lifts Spain to victory against Montenegro

The emergence of María Conde (20 points, PIR of 22) was crucial for Spain to overcome a Montenegro team that punished them in the third quarter and ended up seeing Miguel Martínez Méndez's players practically run over them in the last.

The Spanish signed a brilliant last ten minutes in attack and defense to win a devastating 26-6 partial and take a 78-57 victory that allows them to aspire to the leadership of the group if they prevail over Greece and Montenegro defeat Latvia this Sunday.

Spain jumped onto the parquet very psyched. Very soon, he showed that his outside shot would be one of the keys to fight for the victory. In addition to helping them win the Montenegrin team 19-14 at the end of the first period, with Alba Torrens shining in this facet of the game, it also helped them hit what seemed like a blow on the table in the second.

In this case, from the hand of a lethal María Conde in the triples and that, with 15 points, would already be the best of the first part of a duel that reached the break with a 42-29 score for the team he leads Miguel Martinez Mendez.

At the restart, however, it was Montenegro who seemed like a gale. With a 0-11, and also taking advantage of Spain's initial lack of success in defense and attack, they threatened to turn things around. Two new triples, by Alba Torrens and Leonor Rodríguez, would help slow down the bleeding a bit and open a slight gap (50-44), although the Montenegrins would manage to reach the last quarter one point behind (52-51)..

The work in the recovery of Laura Gil and the reappearance of the best version of María Conde, at this point, would be crucial for the Spaniards to leave by 21 points in the light with a devastating 26-6 partial that, in the end , would help them to a final victory by 78-57 and to the revenge of the debut.