The fourth time proved to be the charm for Spain as they ended a three-game losing streak in EuroBasket Women semi-finals by beating Belarus 70-54 on Saturday night in Italy.

Anna Montanana scored 14 points and Amaya Valdemoro 12, while Spanish coach Evaristo Perez got 29 points from his bench in a convincing win.

Spain now face Russia, who beat them in the qualifying round, in the gold medal game.

		Isabel Sanchez was one of the players who came off the Spanish bench to contribute with nine points.

“This is an historic achievement for us, to have four consecutive medals at the EuroBasket and on this occasion, we have a silver medal assured,” said Spain Basketball Federation  president Jose Luis Saez.

Spain, who won gold in 1993, captured bronze at the last three EuroBaskets.

“I know the effort that the players have given in order to overcome the height disadvantage against other teams, but they show a lot of heart and a lot of grit and they deserve to be in the final game,” Saez said.

Spain’s victory has provided a first in that the same two countries will play in the finals of the men’s and women’s EuroBaskets in the same year.

Russia’s men upset Spain in the gold medal game at the EuroBasket in Madrid last month.

“Last time we were favourites,” Saez said, “but this time we know Russia have a great team, but we will not give anything without a fight.”

Belarus jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, but Spain, behind Montanana’s nine points, battled back to lead 18-15 at the end of the first quarter and they remained in  front the rest of the way.

They did close the gap to one when Tatyana Troina drilled a three-pointer with 1:43 remaining in the first half to make it 31-30 in favour of Spain.

Lucila Pascua scored the last two points before the intermission for a 33-30 lead.

Pascua then buried a short jumper at the start of the second half to give her team the momentum.

Elisa Aguilar connected from behind the arc and Montanana added a pair of free throws to make it 40-30.

The lead ballooned to 50-35 when Valdemoro nailed a three-pointer but Belarus showed great poise and went on an 8-0 run to stay in touch.

Katsiaryna Snytsina hit an off-balance three-pointer, shot from a couple of yards behind the arc, before Yelena Leuchanka scored five straight points – her first of the game - on a three-point play and two more at the free throw line.

They got even closer at 52-47 the start of the fourth on a Svetlana Volnaya jumper.

That’s when Spain’s bench took over.

A Marta Zurro jumper sparked a decisive 12-0 run in which super reserve Isabel Sanchez scored seven of her nine points.

		“	Our bench players were terrific. That is why we won this game.	„
		Spain's Amaya Valdemoro

This time, Belarus lost touch.

“That is what is so impressive about this win,” said Valdemoro.

“Our bench players were terrific. That is why we won this game.”

“Someone had to stop us,” said Belarus guard Natalie Marchanka.

Belarus were careless with the ball on Saturday, turning it over 25 times.

“That showed the lack of experience,” Volnaya said. “Maybe we were a little bit more nervous than the Spanish team.”

After Belarus cut the deficit to five, Volnaya admitted Spain’s intensity went up.

“Their defense played really well,” she said. “That's how they took off. They played solid defensively and scored off our turnovers.”

Spain are hoping they will be a fourth-time lucky when they face surprise package Belarus in the EuroBasket Women semi-finals on Sunday.

At the three previous EuroBaskets, Spain have lost at this stage but gone on to capture the bronze medal.

		If the Belarussian dream is to continue Katsiaryna Snytsina will have to play well.

Belarus will be very difficult opponents.

Playing in the final round of the European Championship for the first time in their history, they have made a stunning run to the last four.

Anatoli Buyalski's team has knocked host nation Italy out of the tournament while also defeating the defending champions Czech Republic in the last eight.

Spain prevailed 76-62 over Belarus on the opening night of the this tournament.

Last time out: Spain beat Belgium 72-53 while Belarus edged the Czech Republic 52-46.

Key match-up: Belarus' Katsyarina Snytsina v Spain's Amaya Valdemoro. Snytsina had a game-high 18 points in the first game against Spain and in their big win against the Czechs, she scored seven of Belarus' 12 points in the final quarter. Valdemoro came up with five steals and led Spain with 17 points in the quarter-final triumph over Belgium.

Key Stat: Belarus allowed Spain to shoot 50.8% (30 of 59) from the field but in their last two games against Italy and the Czechs, Buyalski’s defense improved substantially. The Italians made just 19 of 62 (30.6%) from the floor while the Czech Republic were 17 of 55 (30.9%).

X-Factor: Cindy Lima, Spain. Lima came off the bench and made life very difficult for Belgium’s superstar center Ann Wauters and if she offers a combative presence against the Belarus frontline of Yelena Leuchanka and Anastasiya Veremeenko, that will be a huge plus for Evaristo Perez’s team.

Speaking out: "This is the second time we meet Belarus in this tournament. The competition has proved that that game was too easy and that now will have to work very hard in the semi-finals if we wish to beat them." Spain coach Perez.