Spain advance to the first stage of Eurobasket qualifying after beating Slovakia in two overtimes in a nerve-wracking final.

Spain achieved a very important victory in Bratislava with a view to qualifying for the Eurobasket 2025. After the defeats against Belgium and Latvia in the first window, the two matches against Slovakia They seemed crucial. Those of Scariolo They have taken the first step, even if the ranking must still be certified on Tuesday. [Así hemos vivido la victoria de España]

The national team faced the match with “a particular and atypical level of urgency”, as the coach acknowledged in the preview. However, Scariolo chose to continue giving way to generational change and it almost cost him displeasure. Spain were victorious in a match that could have been unforgettable from a negative point of view.

In the first overtime, with four tenths to play and Slovakia in possession, all seemed lost for the national team at the Tipos Arena. However, Santiago Yusta He scored the triple with which he forced the second overtime and kept Spain alive in the match. Miquel Salvo It was the other player dressed as a superhero.

Slovakia surprised in the match after a second half in which they recovered from the 13 points they had Spain the advantage and they had in their hands the possibility of achieving this feat. “If we manage to surprise them, we will make history,” admitted Timotej Malovec ahead of the match. They were close to achieving it.

Spain played the qualifier for the Eurobasket against Slovakia. If they win both matches, the national team will certify their ticket if Belgium manages to win one of the two matches against Latvia. If she wins one and loses the other, she will play in the third window, while if she loses both, she will be eliminated.

“One mistake after another”

The visitors came out in earnest, with Fran Guerra placing himself in front of the attacks by scoring 9 of his team’s first 13 points. And this concentration allowed them to compensate for the lack of three-point success in the first quarter and take the advantage after ten minutes (10-14).

What did not enter this section from the outside ended up entering in bursts in the second act. Miquel Salvo first and Santi Yusta Then, this one consecutively, they each converted two long shots to put things back in their place and give the Spaniards twelve leads at the break.

The feelings were good at that moment, but a small unexpected earthquake shook the confrontation in the form of a 7-0 partial on the return to the hardwood. Spain quickly cut it short with a triple from the captain Xabi Lopez-Arostegui and remained around ten points ahead until a minute and a half from the end of the third quarter, the afternoon became cloudy again.

Everything from that moment until half an hour was contributed Vladimir Brodzianski; two baskets and a triple at the buzzer which brought the score to 46-48 and put fear in the body of a Spanish team which today is not afraid.

Scariolo’s team immediately regained the advantage thanks to Jaime Pradilla. And from there began a carousel of offensive errors on both sides that led to no points and one possession for the Slovaks with 15 seconds remaining in the duel.

The leader could have condemned a failure to the basket and equalized Alberto Diaz with a triple out. Nothing came in and gave way to a succession of free throws which allowed the Slovaks to face with three points in advance and possession of the last four tenths. The home team took off in the background, Brodziansky fell asleep, Yusta recovered and landed an impossible shorthand triple that was deemed valid upon review. An unthinkable action which forced the second overtime (67-67, m.45).

The new addition started with a triple from Kajkovic that put his team into orbit until a free throw from Yusta and a triple from Salvó put the team in red with two favorable leads with 01:15 remaining . Finally it was Salvó himself, with a rebound and the two free kicks that followed, the one that put the icing on the cake and put an end to the suffering. Given what we have seen, and despite the absence of many important names in the team, the transition to a new generation could be long.

Technical sheet:

Slovakia: Krajkovic (19), Volarik (-), Brodziansky (23), Malovec (7), Mokran (2), -starting five-, Ihring (13), Pavelka (6), Majercak (-), Fusek (2) , Abraham (-), Dolezaj (-), Hlivak (-).

Spain: Díaz (2), López-Arostegui (5), Pradilla (4), Yusta (21), Guerra (13) -starting five-, Sima (3), De Larrea (-), Paulí (1), Almansa ( 10), Salvó (12), Alocén (5), Saint-Supery (-).

Referees: Matin Vulic (Croatia), Cecilia Montgomery-Toth (Hungary) and Peter Praksch (Hungary). Pradilla, Ihring and Malovec were sent off for personal fouls.

Incidents: match corresponding to the third day of Group C of the qualifying phase for Eurobasket 2025 played at the TIPOS Arena in Bratislava.