The Spanish national team will be fighting for the medals in the Women's U19 World Cup, which is taking place in Russia. Spain defeated a tough Belgium team (70-66), recovering their form and brilliantly securing a spot in the semifinals, where they will most likely face the United States, who will be playing against Canada at 19:15. It was an outstanding performance by Laura Quevedo, who scored 23 points (16 in the second half) and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Angela Salvadores, who contributed with 21 points and 6 assists. Laura Raventós also had a strong performance in the second quarter, as did Helena Orts in the third.
The game started with Belgium's dominance (2-6) and Salvadores' poor shooting performance (0/4 on two-pointers), but the Spanish team reacted and both Salvadores and Quevedo started making an impact to put Spain in the lead. The team coached by Mario López built a 10-point lead (28-18, min. 15), but Belgium hit four consecutive three-pointers, two of them by Allemand, their top scorer with 17 points, and closed the gap to just two points right before halftime (32-30), which ended with a buzzer-beating basket by Salvadores.
In the second half of the game, Quevedo stole the show. After a close start in the third period (43-42, min. 23), the power forward started scoring effortlessly, and with the help of Salvadores, she extended Spain's lead to 10 points (57-47). In the final quarter, the Spanish team managed to withstand the outside shots of Ramette and Allemand, as well as the physical play of an uncomfortable Geldof in the paint. A three-pointer by Laia Flores cleared things up (66-55, min. 33), and despite a 4-11 run from Belgium in the last six minutes, Spain came out victorious. It is a pity that their mistakes in the group stage have left them facing the United States in the semifinals, unless Canada pulls off an unlikely surprise.