Spain cruised to a 76-62 triumph over Belarus on the opening day of the EuroBasket Women in Ortona.

Center Anna Montanana came up strong for the Spanish, scoring 10 points, pulling down five rebounds, dishing out six assists and coming up with five steals.

Spain had three other players in double figures, including Amaya Valdemoro.

She finished

		Sviatlana Volnaya had only four points for Belarus in the loss,

with a team-high 17 points.

"We've had balance in scoring in this game," said Spain coach Evaristo Perez. "That is exactly what every coach wants and in this case, I got it from my players. All my players have contributed to this win."

Perez was all the more satisfied considering he made his coaching debut in international competition in charge of the national team.

"Although I have more than 25 years experience in basketball, I cannot deny that I was anxious to make my debut and very proud and happy for this victory," he added.

The bronze medalists at the last three EuroBaskets started strong and led 17-12 going into the second quarter but Katsiaryna Snytsina's free throws late in the first half cut the deficit to 26-25.

Spain then went on a 25-4 run that bridged the second and third quarters to take command (51-29).

Led by Tatyana Troina's hot hand, Belarus trimmed the deficit 55-45 with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter.

Katsiaryna Snytsina's three-ball allowed Belarus to go into the final stanza trailing 60-51.

Although Spain turned the ball over three times in the next three minutes, Belarus failed to take advantage and Perez's side outscored their opponents 16-11 in the last 10 minutes.

"We knew it was going to be a hard game," said Troina, who finished with 11 points.

"Spain have more experience than us in this tournament and I think considering it was our first game and we faced a difficult opponent, we did well."

Spain were superior shooting the ball from inside the arc, making 24 of 41 (58.5%) while Belarus were 16 of 38 (42.1%).

Snytsina had a game-high 18 points in defeat.