a very intense Valencia Basket inflicted Barça its first defeat since the beginning of January (86-76) after being much superior in the fight for the rebound (44 to 23) as happened in the first round (79-87).
VAL
BAR
VALENCIA BASKET, 86
(21+19+24+22): Neno Dimitrijevic (16), Xavi López-Arostegui (7), Víctor Claver (4), Jaime Pradilla (11), Mike Tobey (17) -five starting-, Josep Puerto (2 ), Jasiel Rivero (14), Klemen Prepelic (8), Guillem Ferrando (3) and Bojan Dubljevic (4).
BARÇA, 76
(21 + 21 + 19 + 13): Nick Calathes (4), Nico Laprovittola (9), Dante Exum (11), Nikola Mirotic (14), Sertaç Sanli (7) -initial five-, Brandon Davies (13), Kyle Kuric (8), Sergi Martinez (2), Nigel Hayes (1), Rokas Jokubaitis (7), Alex Abrines and Rolands Smits.
REFEREES
Antonio Conde, Jorge Martinez and Roberto Lucas. They pointed out coach Joan Peñarroya (15:35) and Víctor Claver (34:59), from Valencia Basket; and Kyle Kuric (27:53) and coach Sarunas Jasikevicius (32:24), from Barça.
INCIDENTS
Postponed match corresponding to matchday 18 of the regular phase of the Endesa Men’s Basketball League, played before 7,068 spectators at the Pabellón Fuente de San Luis (Valencia).
Despite initial inspiration from Nico Laprovittola, the visitors did not have the day on the perimeter (10/29 in triples) with a special mention for a Kyle Kuric who for once was not successful… because the Nigel Hayes thing is already beginning to be a habit.
The azulgrana team faced its third game of the week without the injured Cory Higgins and Pierre Oriola and perhaps he ended up paying for that fatigue against a ‘taronja’ team that already had former Barcelona player Víctor Claver finally recovered from his lengthy injury.
With three triples in a row, Nico Laprovittola led a great away start (6-11)but rebounding problems gave second chances to a Valencia Basket team that grabbed hold of the quarry to turn the score around with a ‘2+1’ by Jaime Pradilla and a triple by Guillem Ferrando (17-16).
Saras scolded Jokubaitis for a loss and the Lithuanian showed that he can’t handle the pressure with two excellent defenders and a great basket and good direction in a game whose first quarter ended with a draw (21-21).
The Cuban Jasiel Rivero took advantage of these problems of forceful visitors in the ‘paint’ with two baskets plus two free throws that he missed in his great scourge (27-25), to which Barça responded with a triple by Jokubaitis and a Sanli basket after offensive rebound (27-30 at 5:56 of the break).
The local defensive intensity had closed the perimeter of the league champion, but a Dante Exum on a roll and recently renewed until the end of the season again distanced a Barcelona team that left at the break with a meager advantage (40-42) despite their clear disadvantage in rebounding (21 to 13)
Brandon Davies battles with Rivero for a ball during the match
| FCB
The bad news for the ‘taronja’ was the Child Dimitrijevic injury, who injured his right ankle although later it was not as serious as it seemed at first and he reappeared after the intermission to be key. A big problem with Van Rossom KO and with Hermannsson very ‘touched’.
Barça came out very intense and stood on ‘bonus’ after two minutes. This did not prevent him from connecting good minutes on the back of an inspired Nikola Mirotic (49-54), although the burden of the 18 offensive rebounds conceded in total made at the end of the third quarter the advantage went to Joan Peñarroya’s team (64-61)… and that the triple from his track on the buzzer of López-Arostegui crashed into the rim.
Kuric did not have the day and was 0/4 in triples and -8 in PIR. And Mirotic was too lonely. Thus the things, the desire of Pradilla and the good direction of the recovered Dimitrijevic they gave wings to the ‘taronja’ (73-62 at 6:30 from the end).
Although the azulgranas did not give up, the bleeding on the rebound was too heavy a slab and the triples did not enter either. Brandon Davies and Laprovittola failed them with 73-67 five minutes from the break.
The rest was taken care of by the Slovenian international Mike Tobey, with three baskets in a row that put the finishing touch to a great victory for a needy Valencia Basket after the disappointment of the Copa del Rey.
