“I have bruises everywhere” | Relief

The name Gracia Alonso de Armiño has become fashionable in the last hours of Spanish basketball. The Vizcaya player is still in the bubble, which she entered at the same time as her backhand second against Canada. A basket that has already become part of the Spanish basketball imagination and became Spain’s first ticket to the Olympic Games in the 3×3 format.

“I have an emotional hangover. Fully”.– says the heroine of the Spanish national team in a conversation with Relevo from the airport in Budapest, a few moments before boarding the plane that will take the two teams, women’s and men’s, back to Spain after their participation in the pre-Olympic games… and after a whole sleepless night “We couldn’t sleep. During this time, I watched the video of the basket at least 10 times.”

A basket that began with a “mistake” and ended in an explosion of “collective hysteria,” as Alonso recounts the moment he realized what he had just done. “On the court I had the feeling that the first shot was more balanced. Then, when I first saw the video, I saw that I had gone sideways and that was the reason the ball missed the target. Then I looked at the tap and how quickly everything happened. Even looking at the tap, I didn’t remember that I collided with Sandra when I released the ball. “It was a moment of total hysteria.”

“I was shocked. I couldn’t realize that he had entered. I think we looked at each other and there was a moment’s pause where we just looked at each other before we started screaming like crazy. You don’t expect me to come in. Eventually you can go for extra time. We found the game a little boring, and due to fatigue we don’t have time to think about everything so quickly. “We were all in shock.”recalls the Biscay player, who finished this season wearing a Movistar Estudiantes jersey.

Basket Gracia, who put basketball aside in 2020 to work as a nurse during the height of the Covid pandemic., pays tribute to what happened three years ago in Olympic qualifying, when Japan eliminated Spain from the Tokyo Games with a final basket, sending the third- and fourth-place match into overtime. The Japanese were victorious there and They left the team, which also included Sandra Higueravide and Vega Jimeno, with honey on their lips.two 3×3 references who couldn’t hold back their tears yesterday after being classified three years later.

“They congratulated me. After all, it wasn’t just that basket that brought us to the Games. This is what we did throughout the tournament, what we did was very worthy, and on an individual level, thanks to my contribution, I was able to take a step forward and improve the group.. I’m very glad to have been part of it,” says Alonso of the basket, which could change the visibility of 3×3 in Spain. “This basket can be a way to make the adrenaline visible because you can’t give up the ball for a loss until the last second. It can give you a lot to talk about, and there are a lot of people who can get hooked and love this discipline. to develop it even in training categories.”

The action, in addition to its entertainment and the fact that it is an Olympic ticket, although its protagonist hopes that he will not remain in this action. “I just don’t believe it. I understand that The basket does not reflect everything we went through in the tournament and in concentration, but if they tell me that we will go to the Games at the last second with a basket from behind, I don’t believe it. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. This is something very important and a very big responsibility. I’m very proud. This is a reward for effort, for not giving the ball away for a loss, for fighting for every rebound and for every second on the court. We’re still going to go to Paris to give it away. We are not satisfied with the appearance. Of course, such a basket is no longer needed to win a medal. I hope I finish first in Paris.”.

What happened yesterday in Debrecen, Hungary, is just another step on a journey that has barely begun. But a very important step. It is therefore not surprising that the celebration continued until dawn. There had to be a reward after what it took to get to Paris. “My ankles hurt, my foot hurts, we have bruises all over our forearms, on our back… what can I tell you. I will sit in an ice bath for two days.”– Alonso noted with a laugh, remembering what happened a few hours ago. “We celebrated. We went to dinner with the men’s team, with the staff, with President Elisa Aguilar, who gave a speech…”

The celebration more than made it worth everything this team went through to get here. “We were focused for more than 10 days. Four of us were in Valencia with 10 girls who They helped us to strengthen ourselves, to crush ourselves, because it is a very physical sport, which is very different from 5×5, and in such a short time we managed to get into the dynamics of 3×3. when there are other countries that only invest 3×3 in their players and only train 3×3 throughout the year. We had four days in Valencia and four in Serbia, where we were in the academy of the Lithuanian national team, who even gave us an ID card.”– recalls the player from Bilbao.

“Then you get to the tournament and it was a blast. It is true that we have talent on an individual level and that Spain is a force in European basketball, but so much so that the move from 5×5 to 3×3 is very commendable. They largely blame the players and the Federation,” concludes Gracia Alonso, the surprise hero of the weekend for Spanish basketball. Some spotlights from which he has not yet woken up. “If they had forced us to extend the deadline, I don’t know what would have happened. We almost begged for time. These are the emotions that exist in this sport. “I hope this basket serves as a way to create excitement and convey that feeling.”