They led and were outsmarted. Drama of Polish women in the fight for bronze at the European Championships

The first three matches of the Polish women’s national basketball team in 3×3 could fill us with great optimism. In the group stage, the white and reds defeated Romania 17:9 and Germany 21:14. In the quarterfinals, they fought a fierce battle with Latvia, which ended in a 19:17 victory.

Two defeats at the end of the championship

As for the semi-final with Spain, our players lagged behind their rivals from the very beginning. At the beginning of the match they tried to catch up in case of a result, but later it was only worse. The 11:21 defeat reflects the difference in class between these teams.

At that time, however, we could not give up, because our representatives still had to fight for third place. Our rivals were the Dutch, who lost the semi-final to France 17:18 after a thrilling match. At that time, they already knew that they would not defend the title of European champions.

The Polish women led and lost

From the very beginning, the competition for bronze was even. It seemed that the Polish team could cause a surprise and beat Oranje. Everything fell apart from the moment the white and red team was leading 11:10.

Then the Dutch team carried out three effective actions for two points in a short period of time. Our ladies were passive in defense, but they already had ten fouls, which meant that each subsequent foul would result in two free throws. It is hard to say whether they could have done anything more in defense, but it was certain that in less than a minute, what had happened earlier had been in vain.

The rivals gained confidence and headed for a victory that would give them bronze medals. Ultimately, the Dutch won 21:14. They deservedly took third place at the European Championships. Our players, on the other hand, have something to regret, because they lost two of the most important matches at this tournament and did not repeat the success of two years ago.