Tamara Abalde

Tamara Abalde
No. 6 – Durán Maq. Ensino
PositionPower forward
LeagueLiga Femenina
Personal information
Born (1989-02-06) 6 February 1989 (age 35)
Ferrol, Spain
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Career information
Playing career2004–present
Career history
2004–2007Celta Vigo
2007–2008Lamar Cardinals
2008–2010Rivas Futura / Ecópolis
2011UNB Obenasa Navarra
2011–2012Pays d'Aix Basket 13
2012–2013Basket Landes
2013–2015Perfumerías Avenida
2015–2016Cadí La Seu
2016–2017CREFF ¡Hola!
2017–2018Mann-Filter Casablanca
2018–2020Valencia Basket
2020-2021Kutxabank Araski
2021-presentDurán Maq. Ensino
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  Spain
EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2019 Serbia/Latvia
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Latvia
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Abalde and the second or maternal family name is Díaz.

Tamara Abalde Díaz (born 6 February 1989 in Ferrol) is a Spanish basketball player, currently player for Spanish team Durán Maquinaria Ensino. She played for Spain in the 2008 Summer Games and for the Lamar Cardinals in the NCAA.[1] She is 6 feet, one inch, and weighs 159 pounds.[2]

Her father, Alberto Abalde Rodríguez was a professional basketball player from 1980 to 1993, and her brother, Alberto Abalde Díaz, is also a professional basketball player for Real Madrid.

Playing career

Vigo

Coming from a basketball family, Abalde attended Compañía de María school (1998-2003) and San José de la Guía in Vigo before joining Celta de Vigo Baloncesto's youth teams in 2003. She made her debut in the Spanish top-tier league at 15.

NCAA

She was just the sixth player in Lamar history to be named to the Southland Conference First Team. In addition, she was only the second player to earn SLC Freshman of the Year honors.[3]

The only freshman during the 2007–08 season to be named to the All-Southland Conference First Team, she recorded five double-doubles. In addition, she accumulated eight games with at least 20 points scored. Abalde scored a single-game high and school record tying 44 points against Wiley College on 24 November 2007. Her 16.0 points per game ranked sixth in the league in scoring. In addition, she was ninth in rebounds (7.1), shot a .424 mark from the field and was named conference player of the week twice.

Awards and honors

  • 2007–08 All-Southland Conference First Team[4]
  • 2007–08 Southland Conference Rookie of the Year[5]

Professional

After one season with Lamar of the NCAA, she decided to leave the team to pursue a professional career in Europe. She spent a couple of seasons at Baloncesto Rivas and half a season at UNB Obenasa Navarra. After a couple of seasons in France, she signed for Spanish powerhouse Perfumerías Avenida in 2013, winning two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Supercups and finishing as runner-up of the League twice. Looking for more playtime she spent the next three seasons in three different clubs (Cadí La Seu, CREFF ¡Hola! and Mann-Filter Casablanca) before signing for newly promoted team Valencia Basket in 2018.

EuroLeague and EuroCup stats[6]

Season Team GP MPP PPP RPP APP
2008-09 EuroCup Spain Rivas Ecópolis 8 18.6 6.9 2.6 1.4
2010-11 EuroLeague Spain Rivas Ecópolis 5 13.2 3.2 1.4 0.2
2012-13 EuroCup France Basket Landes 6 21.5 5.8 4.2 1.0
2013-14 EuroLeague Spain Perfumerías Avenida 9 9.5 3.3 1.9 0.8
2014-15 EuroLeague Spain Perfumerías Avenida 5 5.6 0.8 0.8 0.0

National team

Abalde started playing with Spain's youth teams at 14, winning a total of five medals from 2003 to 2009. She made her debut with the senior team in 2008, and went to play the 2008 Summer Olympics when she was 19 years old. Up to 2021, she had 68 caps with 2.5 PPG,[7] participating in 2 Olympic Games and 2 EuroBasket Women:[6]

References

  1. ^ "Player Bio: Tamara Abalde LAMAR CARDINALS Official Athletic Site". lamarcardinals.com.
  2. ^ "Prodep Profile". prodep.com.
  3. ^ "Lamar's Tamara Abalde Signs Professional Contract In The Women's Euro League". www.southland.org. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  4. ^ "UT Arlington Official Athletic Site". utamavs.com.
  5. ^ "LAMAR CARDINALS Official Athletic Site". lamarcardinals.com.
  6. ^ a b "Tamara ABALDE". FIBA.com.
  7. ^ "Selecciones - Federación Española de Baloncesto". FEB.es.