Alba Torrens Salom (born 30 August 1989) is a Spanish female basketball player at the small forward position. She is currently captain of Valencia Basket.[1]
.jpg) Torrens, playing for the Spanish senior team in 2021 | |
| Valencia Basket (women) | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 30 August 1989 Binissalem, Spain |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 176 lb (80 kg) |
| Career information | |
| WNBA draft | 2009: 3rd round, 36th overall pick |
| Selected by the Connecticut Sun | |
| Playing career | 2006–present |
| Career history | |
| 2006–2009 | Celta Vigo |
| 2009–2011 | Perfumerías Avenida |
| 2011–2014 | Galatasaray |
| 2014–2022 | UMMC Ekaterinburg |
| 2022– | Valencia Basket |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
She previously played for UMMC Ekaterinburg. Winner of six EuroLeague titles with three clubs and eight medals with the Spanish senior team, she is considered one of the best European players of the 2010s. After the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she left the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg.[2][3][4]
Club career
editCelta Vigourban, Perfumerias Avenida
editTorrens started playing basketball in clubs in her native Balearic Islands before moving in 2003 to Segle XXI, where young talents are developed. She made her debut in the Spanish top-tier league with Celta Vigourban in the 2007–08 season. Perfumerías Avenida was her clubs for the next two seasons, winning the Spanish league and the Euroleague in 2011 under coach Lucas Mondelo. Despite being picked by the Connecticut Sun in the 2009 WNBA draft, she has repeatedly refused to join the WNBA because of the commitment to the national team.[5][6]
Galatasaray
editShe left Spain at the age of 22, having already been named the best female basketball player in Europe.[1] She then spent three seasons at Galatasaray, and eight at Yekaterinburg, earning six European champion awards.[1]
She moved abroad in 2011 to play for Galatasaray S.K., winning one League, three Cups and her second Euroleague in 2014.
She was Euroleague MVP in 2011 and 2014,[7] and Best Player in Europe in 2011 and 2014.[7]
UMMC Ekaterinburg
editJoining the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2014, she won three EuroLeague Women titles in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021, as well as two Russian Cup and seven Russian Leagues.[2]
With a sixth winners' medal in 2021, she equaled the modern-era record for EuroLeague Women titles, drawing even with Diana Taurasi and Natalia Vieru.[8] By May 2022 she had titles from 3 European Super Cups, 1 League and 1 Super Cup in Spain, 1 League, 3 Cups and a Super Cup in Turkey and 7 Leagues and 2 Cups in Russia.[7] In her last season with Ekaterinburg, she averaged "10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and a PIR of 14.3."[7] After the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she left the team.[2][3][4]
Olympics
editPlaying for Spain, by early 2022 she held 8 medals: two gold (Eurobasket 2013 and 2017), two silver (World Cup 2014 and Olympic Games 2016) and four bronze (Eurobasket 2009 and 2015 and World Cup 2010 and 2018).[7]
In 2016, she scored 32 points over China in the Rio Olympics, leading Spain to a 89-68 win.[9] In the Euroleague, she was named Eurobasket MVP in 2017.[7]
In July 2021, in a matchup of Olympic medalists at the Rio Olympics, TSN reported that Torrens had scored 25 points in a win over Serbia, leading the Spanish team.[10]
Valencia Basket
editIn the summer of 2022, she signed with Valencia Basket, becoming captain of the Spanish team[1] and a power forward after eleven years abroad. The club announced the hire in May 2022.[7]
EuroLeague statistics
edit| Euroleague winner |
| Season | Team | GP | MPP | PPP | RPP | APP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 |  Halcón Avenida
|
15 | 24.4 | 7.5 | 3.4 | 2.4 |
| 2010–11 | Halcón Avenida
|
16 | 28.0 | 15.8 | 4.2 | 2.3 |
| 2011–12 |  Galatasaray S.K.
|
9 | 25.1 | 14.7 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
| 2012–13 | Galatasaray S.K.
|
12 | 17.7 | 6.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| 2013–14 | Galatasaray S.K.
|
17 | 29.4 | 13.7 | 3.8 | 2.8 |
| 2014–15 |  UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
16 | 23.0 | 9.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| 2015–16 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
16 | 21.8 | 8.4 | 3.6 | 2.5 |
| 2016–17 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
18 | 19.5 | 8.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| 2017–18 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
18 | 27.5 | 9.4 | 7.0 | 3.3 |
| 2018–19 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
16 | 25.3 | 9.6 | 5.7 | 3.7 |
| 2019–20 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
5 | 16.7 | 6.2 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| 2020–21 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
10 | 22.2 | 9.9 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| 2021–22 | UMMC Ekaterinburg
|
National team
editTorrens started playing with Spain's youth teams at 14, winning a total of five medals from 2004 to 2009. She made her debut with the senior team in 2008, and went to play with the 2008 Summer Olympics when she was 18 years old. Up to 2021, she had 183 caps with 13 PPG:[11][12]
2004 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship (youth) (MVP)- 2005 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship (youth)
- 2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship (youth)
2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship (youth)- 4th 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (youth)
- 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (youth) (MVP)
- 5th 2008 Summer Olympics
2009 Eurobasket
2010 World Championship- 9th 2011 Eurobasket
- 2013 Eurobasket
2014 World Championship- 2015 Eurobasket
2016 Summer Olympics- 2017 Eurobasket (MVP)[13]
- 2018 World Championship
- 6th 2020 Summer Olympics
2023 Eurobasket
Individual awards and accomplishments
edit- FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year Award: 2009
- FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year: 2011, 2014[14]
- EuroLeague Final Four MVP: 2011, 2014[15]
- EuroBasket Women MVP: 2017[16]
- 3x EuroBasket All-Tournament Team: 2013, 2015, 2017
References
edit- ^ a b c d Morenilla, Juan (27 November 2022), "The war brings Alba Torrens home", El País, retrieved 18 May 2023
- ^ a b c Salvador, Joseph (3 March 2022). "Report: Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley Leave Russian Team, Returning to United States". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ a b "Alba Torrens abandona Rússia i torna a Mallorca". dBalears. 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b "CT Sun's Jonquel Jones Safely Flees Russia After Invasion Of Ukraine". 2 March 2022.
- ^ Allard, Marc. "Connecticut Sun coach says team needs roster stability". The Bulletin. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Alba Torrens, la estrella que renuncia una y otra vez a la WNBA por la selección. Noticias de Baloncesto". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Alba Torrens signs for Valencia Basket and returns to Spain eleven years later, ABC, 16 May 2022, retrieved 18 May 2023
- ^ Six-time champion Torrens eyeing a record breaking haul of EuroLeague Women titles, FIBA, 20 April 2021, retrieved 18 May 2023
- ^ Alba Torrens scores 32 points as Spain routs China 89-68, The Associated Press, 10 August 2016, retrieved 18 May 2023
- ^ Torrens helps Spain beat Serbia, remain unbeaten, TSN The Canadian Press, 29 July 2021, retrieved 18 May 2023
- ^ "Selección Española Absoluta Femenina de Baloncesto". seleccionfemenina.feb.es. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "archive.fiba.com: Players". archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "MVP Torrens leads All-Star Five - FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 - FIBA.basketball". Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
- ^ Alba Torrens has been named FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year FIBA.com
- ^ Avenida still in the clouds FIBA.com
- ^ MVP Torrens leads All-Star Five FIBA.com
External links
edit- Alba Torrens at FIBA (archive)
- Alba Torrens at Eurobasket.com
- Alba Torrens at FEB (in Spanish)
- Alba Torrens at Olympedia
- Alba Torrens at Olympics.com
- Alba Torrens at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
- Alba Torrens – COE – Paris 2024 (in Spanish)
- Alba Torrens Salom at the Comité Olímpico Español (in Spanish)