Nuria Martinez, the point guard of the Spanish women's basketball team said on Monday that she felt relieved after making the final squad for the Beijing Olympic Games.
Spain coach Evaristo Perez included Martinez in his final squad for Beijing, leaving Silvia Dominguez as the unlucky player out of the 13 he had been working with, to miss the Games.
"It's a shame, you really have to praise the work she has done, she has given everything and she has helped everyone, but we all know that you can't take 13 players to the Games," said the Perez to the official website of the Spanish basketball Federation.
"My aim was to give continuity to the team that performed in qualifying, we always felt that those who had won on court deserved the chance to go to Beijing if nothing unexpected happened," he said.
Martinez meanwhile was pleased she had made the final cut after being a major doubt as she struggled with tendinitis in her left hand. In the end she was able to prove she will be in condition to play in Beijing.
"I am very happy, because I feel fully able to work with the squad and the team and because bit by bit, I am feeling better," said Martinez, who plays her club basketball with Dynamo Moscow.
(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2008)