Tamara Abalde
Tamara Abalde Díaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 6, 1989 Ferrol, Spain |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Playing for Durán Maquinaria Ensino in Liga Femenina; representing Spain at the 2008 Summer Olympics; NCAA basketball with Lamar Cardinals |
Tamara Abalde Díaz (born 6 February 1989 in Ferrol) is a professional basketball athlete from Spain, currently playing for Durán Maquinaria Ensino in the Liga Femenina. She represented Spain at the 2008 Summer Olympics and competed collegiately with the Lamar Cardinals in the NCAA. Measuring 6 feet 1 inch, she offers a commanding presence as a power forward.
Her basketball heritage includes her father, Alberto Abalde Rodríguez, who played professionally between 1980 and 1993, and her brother, Alberto Abalde Díaz, who is an active professional player for Real Madrid.
Vigo
Raised in a basketball-oriented family, Abalde attended Compañía de María school (1998–2003) followed by San José de la Guía in Vigo. She joined the youth squads of Celta de Vigo Baloncesto in 2003 and made her debut in Spain’s premier women's basketball league at just 15 years old.
NCAA
Abalde became the sixth player in Lamar University’s history to be selected for the Southland Conference First Team and was only the second to receive the SLC Freshman of the Year award.
During the 2007–08 season, she was the only freshman honored on the All-Southland Conference First Team. That season, she posted five double-doubles and scored over 20 points in eight contests. On 24 November 2007, she tied a school record by scoring 44 points against Wiley College. Averaging 16.0 points per game placed her sixth in the conference, complemented by 7.1 rebounds per game, a .424 shooting percentage from the field, and two conference Player of the Week recognitions.
Professional
After completing one season in the NCAA, she embarked on a professional career across Europe. Her tenure included spells with Baloncesto Rivas and UNB Obenasa Navarra. Following a period competing in France, she signed with Spanish elite club Perfumerías Avenida in 2013. There, she secured two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Supercups, and finished as league runner-up twice. Pursuing increased playing opportunities, she spent three seasons with Cadí La Seu, CREFF ¡Hola!, and Mann-Filter Casablanca before joining newly promoted Valencia Basket in 2018.
EuroLeague and EuroCup stats
| Season | Team | GP | MPP | PPP | RPP | APP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 EuroCup | Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Rivas Ecópolis | 8 | 18.6 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 1.4 |
| 2010-11 EuroLeague | Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Rivas Ecópolis | 5 | 13.2 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.2 |
| 2012-13 EuroCup | Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Basket Landes | 6 | 21.5 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 1.0 |
| 2013-14 EuroLeague | Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Perfumerías Avenida | 9 | 9.5 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.8 |
| 2014-15 EuroLeague | Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Perfumerías Avenida | 5 | 5.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
College
| Season | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Lamar | 30 | 31.0 | 42.4 | 30.8 | 79.8 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 16.0 |
| Career | 30 | 31.0 | 42.4 | 30.8 | 79.8 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 16.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National team
Abalde's involvement with Spain's national squads began at age 14, during which she secured five medals between 2003 and 2009. She made her first appearance with the senior national team in 2008 and took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics at 19 years old. As of 2021, she had earned 68 caps and averaged 2.5 points per game, competing in two Olympic Games and two EuroBasket Women championships:
- 4th place at the 2003 FIBA Europe U16 (youth)
- Competed in the 2004 FIBA Europe U16 (youth)
- Participated in the 2005 FIBA Europe U16 (youth), named to the All-Tournament Team
- Played in the 2006 FIBA Europe U18 (youth)
- Took part in the 2007 FIBA Europe U18 (youth)
- Achieved 4th place at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship (youth)
- Finished 5th at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Awarded MVP at the 2009 FIBA Europe U20 (youth)
- Competed in the 2009 EuroBasket
- Participated in the 2019 EuroBasket
- Secured 6th place at the 2020 Summer Olympics