Alba Torrens (Binissalem, 1989) looks into the eyes of his interlocutors when he speaks. Hardened in a thousand battles, the forward is immersed in her sixth eurobasketballtournament where he has harvested two golds (2017 and 2013) and two bronzes (2009 and 2015). Aware of the price to pay in high competition, the athlete will put on the armor to face a new battle: the European semifinals against Hungary (5:45 p.m., Telederpote). The demand accompanies this player, one of the most successful in the history of Spanish basketball, who seek to slow down the clock to enjoy every moment in order to resume the path of the golden path.
Ask. What happened in that debut against Latvia? The perception at the end of the game was that she was visibly upset…
R. It is true that in the first game we did not get the result we wanted. We wanted to win everything and it was not like that. After the match it is difficult to reflect because many emotions are mixed and we are competitive… and I am competitive. At that moment I only saw defeat and the feeling of being able to do things better. In the end, if you do the best you can and don’t win, then you’re calm with yourself and you do another type of reflection on how or what to improve to win the next game. But at the time, I had a feeling that we could and could do better and we didn’t. There were many emotions.
But then, at night, everything happened and the moment of calm came: we saw that it was a game and that they were not leaving us out. I first reflected on what I could do better and I think we all also reflected on what we could do better as a team. We all did it: players and staff. And now, looking back, I think we learned a lot from that game. Such a defeat could have gone up or down, and the direction was up. We left our emotions behind, we were autocratic and we tried to remain calm to see everything in perspective and continue to grow without believing that after a defeat we were the worst in the world.
Q. You once commented that the line between winning and losing is sometimes very fine…
R. Each defeat questions me. What to do better, what to change… I sincerely believed that we could have won that match, but at the same time the emotions passed quickly and calm returned again to see everything more clearly and objectively. We saw that it was the first game and we analyzed what we could improve for the next one. I think it was more the demand that we imposed on ourselves and that I personally impose on myself to be able to do better and want to do better.
Q. Would you say that you were yourselves the fourth rivals in group A?
R. Definitely. I think that the first rival is always ourselves. In that game we did something very good: we didn’t punish ourselves. We stayed together, we supported each other and we grew together. I think we accepted what had happened with a very good mentality, with maturity, and we used it to grow to give our best in the next game. We grew as a team and I think that everyone reflected on how to find a way to give their best.
We stayed together, we supported each other and we grew together. I think we accepted what had happened with a very good mentality, with maturity
Q. From there to playing in the Eurobasket semifinals… Do you feel like you’ve lived through a trilogy?
R. And in a short time! Neither the first day we were so bad nor today we are so good. We are the same. No, correct me: we are not the same. Every day we change and every day everything changes. We are not the same ones that reached this championship, but I know that we continue with our feet on the ground. We are happy to be here and to have qualified for the Pre-Olympic. It was very complicated, and when we achieved it, we celebrated it because it was time to value it. Because sometimes we forget: we set a goal, we meet it and then we forget what we have done. But that on Thursday we celebrated that goal, and now we are thinking about the semifinal match.
Q. How did you celebrate it?
R. Together. We celebrate by sharing this moment and feeling very much that each one has a path behind it and a unique and different story that has led us here. We rejoiced and celebrated the way we had managed to win: as a team.
Q. Was the quarterfinal victory against Germany easier than expected?
R. I think there were many factors. It was a victory for everyone: players and staff. We all do our part. A very good approach was made and everyone’s work was very good. We prepared very well and managed to turn it into a track. We went out with all the tension within the game, we followed the plan and it turned out well. The defense gave us the security to attack and I’ll stick with that, which in the end was a joint match.
I think our strength is the same as that of the quarterfinal match: the approach. Be a different party plan, but our way will be the same
Q. What is expected before Hungary?
R. It is a new party. We have recently played against them, but I think it is positive to be able to scout. We know them, but this will be a different game and we must focus on this moment. I think our strength is the same as that of the quarterfinal match: the approach. It will be a different game plan, but our way will be the same, being attentive from the beginning and each one giving their maximum at all times.
Q. A possible crossover is to play against Belgium in the last game (either in the final or in the duel for bronze). What is it like to play against Emma Meesseman? Do they have ‘bites’ when they face each other or are they motivated in any way when they pass each other in the corridors?
R. (Re) No. If we see each other we give each other a hug. She is an excellent player and a wonderful person. I have been very lucky to play with her for many years in Yekaterinburg and what she transmits within her she also transmits outside of her with values that define her. She has a talent and a calm to play basketball that is unique. She is one of the best players in the world and the fact that she is the way she is makes her even better. I have been very lucky to share her track with her and to learn from her. I will suffer if she touches us as a rival… But when you jump on the track you don’t look at anything other than what you can do to win.
Meesseman is an excellent player and a wonderful person. I have been very lucky to play with her for many years in Yekaterinburg. She has a talent and a calm to play basketball that is unique
Q. Once they asked you what you felt when you played basketball and you said it was like stopping time. Has he managed to stop the clock in this Eurobasket?
R. At times. Not all, although I know that it is my goal to always do so. It continues to be one of my goals: track and life. When you are present in the moment is when I think you can be your best. It is in that moment that you are so present that there is no notion of time. Off the track… it’s also a challenge. I try to live every present moment. I can’t get it (re). But every time I am more aware and it is a life challenge for me not to skip anything.
I have many things to do and not finish. Surely my career ends before I improve everything I could and learn everything I could learn
Q. Mastering track time is the last thing you have left to do?
R. Whoops! (re). I have many things to do and not finish. Surely my career ends before improving everything I could and learning everything I could learn. Basketball has been a tool for growth, it has been a tool that has allowed me to discover myself as a person and it has given me so much… That I believe that after basketball another tool will arrive and many things will be similar. But learning and evolution… That never ends, they are infinite.
