Spain remains one step away from another feat

'Impossible' is a ceiling that the Juniors de Oro eliminated from the vocabulary of Spanish basketball.

Those giants knocked down barriers that once seemed eternal and broadened the horizon for the generations that came after.

They are to blame for the fact that the U17 World Cup final against the United States was received with a 'and why not?'

that for 30 minutes became meat.

A dream that was tangible for three quarters, and a silver deserves the brilliance of this new generation (67-79).

Spain commanded during the first three quarters, but ended up falling to a United States that has become intractable in this category: since this World Cup was established in 2010, they have not lost a single game (44-0) and accumulate six medals with this of gold.

The value of

was to stand up to a team that had passed the roller in Malaga, which at this moment of uncertain relief in the senior team have renewed the hope of Spanish basketball for the future.

Beneath the surface, silenced by a pandemic that delayed its debut until this tournament, beat a dream generation that has been presented in society during these two weeks in Malaga.

A group of promises that barely had a year (and the youngest,

, not even that) when the generation of 80 reached its first great peak in Japan.

Hugo González's mate

These days, the

,

,

,

and a generous etcetera shared encouragement and advice with them.

With

, the boy with magnets in his hands;

with the

and

, two more fruits of that exquisite care with which Basket Zaragoza has been taking care of its quarry.

With

.

With

.

Names that are well worth keeping in mind.

Children who grew up seeing that so many things were possible.

It is not surprising, therefore, the impudence with which Spain came out, all that González, the youngest of the group, showed when he received the counterattack in the first quarter.

With the game still tight and an American forward threatening the block in the race, the Real Madrid youth squad threw himself even more eagerly at the hoop.

The mate made the Martín Carpena rumble and marked the way for Spain to open the first advantages.

It was a mixture of hunger and clear ideas.

The ambition with which

and

They attacked the offensive rebound.

And the clarity with which Spain overcame the mid-court pressure of the United States.

It is the way in which the Americans so often assert their physical superiority, but that Javier Zamora's boys successfully negotiated during the first three quarters, until the 'temperature' of that intensity became unbearable.

Fears baskets

Until then, with

at the helm, he was overcoming that external pressure to find good options inside, punishing that excess of ambition with which the United States players tried to close the shooting options.

Meanwhile, Spain managed to hinder their attack with a good zone defense.

Without success in the outside shot, only the incisive

and

seemed to have the key.

With discipline at the back and patience in attack, Spain held on to the wire of the seven-point lead until the end of the third quarter, when the United States managed to chain the first success streak in the entire game.

With a partial of 1-11 in the final stretch, accentuated with two baskets by

, the United States reached an advantage that Spain could no longer close.

's men

, who had just signed two great reactions against Australia and France in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, fought until the last minute, but not even the growth of

was enough to counteract the American acceleration.

A deserved victory, although marred by some unsportsmanlike gesture from their players at the final whistle.

A defeat that does not tarnish the brilliance of this new generation that makes Spanish basketball dream.

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