Should Domingo Diaz's Spanish women find themselves in trouble in next month's European Championships, thoughts will no doubt turn back to their heroic fightback against Poland two years ago.
Spain were 17 points down against Poland in the bronze medal game in Greece in the fourth quarter when they produced one of the great fightbacks to prevail 87-81 and qualify for the Olympics.
Nobody typified that spirit more than point guard Nuria Martinez.
Only 19-years old, Martinez was thrown on with the game looking lost, but her 14 points in just 15 minutes were a key factor in turning things around.
Not only that, but she showed a maturity beyond her years to net two free throws that tied the game at 79-79.
"Maybe my main virtue is my ambition on court, while my major defect is that I play with my heart more than my head," she told Ligafemenina.com.
Martinez first came into the limelight at the 1999 European Junior Championships that were held in Romania, where she helped steer Spain to the gold medal.
"I began playing in Mataro, where I grew up, then I joined Salle Bonanova, which is connected to Barcelona and then I joined Universitari de Barcelona and continued up into the first team," she said.
Martinez made her first team debut in March 1999, aged just 15 years old.
She spent four more years at the club before moving to Perfumerias Avenida in an attempt to gain more experience.
"Here I think I have improved, but I am not yet a mature player, this is just the first step," Martinez said.
Martinez's form led to the Sacramento Monarchs choosing her in the 2004 draft but she never played for the club and continued with Perfumerias, whom she led to glory in the Spanish Cup last season.
In two years at the club, Martinez averaged 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds a game and that persuaded the Minnesota Lynx to give her another chance in the WNBA.
Hamstring problems have limited her to one brief appearance, however, but if Martinez can produce a repeat of her 15 minutes of glory against Poland, who knows what the future holds.
