Drama as Belgium beat Spain in thriller to retain title

PIRAEUS (Greece) – Belgium claimed back-to-back FIBA Women’s EuroBasket titles with an astonishing and dramatic 67-65 comeback win against Spain in Piraeus.

Trailing by 12 points with less than three minutes remaining, the Cats somehow launched a miracle rescue mission to dig out the most unlikely success. They finished the contest with a 14-0 burst to leave Spain feeling like they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Turning point

It was 65-53 and looking like the game had gone, Belgium started to get some stops and make some shots again to set up a tense conclusion. When a step-back triple from Julie Allemand made it a one-shot game with just 90 seconds remaining the entire Arena were on the edge of their seats.

Another bucket from the guard made it just a one-point game with 18 seconds to play and then came the real turning point. Semi-Final hero Antonia Delaere grabbed a steal from a Mariona Ortiz pass and made the lay-up that gave Belgium the lead with 5 seconds to go. It was one they would hang on to.

TCL Player of the Game

Emma Meesseman had her usual monstrous display for Belgium which had looked to be in vain. However, it proved to be the backbone of a famous and fabulous victory as she racked up a double-double of 16 pts and 11 rebounds, along with 7 assists , 5 steals and 2 blocks to show why she is one of the world’s best.

Stats don’t lie

Maybe sometimes stats do lie a little. Belgium won this amazing Final with bench scoring that was just one solitary basket. Meanwhile 11 steals felt like a huge number in this tight and nerve-shredding game.

Bottom line

Belgium showed the heart of champions and never gave up. It looked like their chance of a rare repeat had gone. Only two nations had ever defended their crown in the long and illustrious history of the tournament. A winning streak of 13 games across multiple editions under all the pressure is absolutely immense.

Spain will take a long time to heal from this one as they pushed the self-destruct button. In the fullness of time, they might accept that with the team they had on the floor, a silver medal was still a fruitful return. It was not that they lost, it was the way that they lost that hurts. And, it will be a Final talked about for many years to come.

They said

FIBA