It was a tale of two endings as Spain and Serbia sealed their qualification to the Paris 2024 women’s basketball tournament quarter-finals with wins over Puerto Rico and China, respectively.
For Spain, as they did in their first game, only scraped by with a one-point win over Puerto Rico 63-62.
With Puerto Rico leading 57-53 after a 15-point comeback with more than four minutes to play, Spain were rattled from a monumental 19-point turnaround in the game. Mariona Ortiz stepped in and scored two baskets to stem the bleeding.
Then, in the dying seconds, Laura Gil took a crucial rebound, was fouled, and made the resulting two free-throws to seal the win, having not previously scored.
Megan Gustafson was once again outstanding, as she picked up a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds to keep Spain’s motor running and leave Puerto Rico’s engine switched off as their Olympic dream ends in Lille.
It was no such drama for Serbia, as they recorded their biggest win of the Games with an 81-59 win over China.
Yvonne Anderson led Serbia with 15 points as they led for most of the game and eased into the last eight.
Photo: FIBA
