2016-17Top 16Round 3
Unicaja Malaga 70
Valencia Basket 78
January 18, 2017 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 MARTIN CARPENA
Will Thomas - Valencia Basket - EC16 (photo Unicaja - Mariano Pozo)

Thomas leads Valencia rally past Unicaja in Malaga

In a battle between undefeated teams in Group H, Valencia Basket rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Unicaja Malaga 70-78 on the road on Wednesday. Valencia improved to 3-0 in Group H, while Unicaja dropped to 2-1. Will Thomas led the winners with 15 points against his former team. Joan Sastre added 13, Romain Sato had 11 while Bojan Dubljevic grabbed 10 rebounds for Valencia. Jamar Smith led Unicaja with 17 points, all in the first half. Adam Waczynski added 12, while Nemanja Nedovic had 11 for the hosts. Unicaja hit 9 of 11 three-point shots in the first half. Smith hit four of those in as many attempts, scoring 17 points in just 11 minutes before the break to give Unicaja a 48-41 lead at halftime. Valencia opened the second half with a 0-13 run and kept the lead for good. Unicaja went on to hit just 2-of-14 three-point shots (14.3%) after the break. Valencia outrebounded its opponents 22-31, dished 20 assists and also held Unicaja to a low two-point shooting percentage (13-of-32, 40.6%).

Alberto Diaz and Waczynski each struck from downtown in an 8-0 opening run. Luke Sikma scored in penetration and Slava Kravtsov added an alley-oop slam, but Nedovic and Jeff Brooks made it a double-digit game, 14-4. Kravtsov kept pacing Valencia, but Waczynski hit another triple and Smith added a three-point play for a 20-9 Unicaja lead. Sastre hit back-to-back three-pointers and followed a layup with a slam to bring Valencia within 23-19 after 10 minutes. Dani Diez joined the three-point shootout and Dejan Musli added a jump hook to make it 28-22. Dubljevic and Thomas stepped up for Valencia and a layup by Sato made it a 1-point game. Unicaja found a go-to guy in Smith, who hit a jumper and added consecutive triples to give his team fresh air at 43-36. Musli dunked and a red-hot Smith hit another three-pointer, but Antoine Diot and Sato kept Valencia within 48-41 at halftime. Valencia improved its defense after the break, keeping Unicaja scoreless for over six minutes. Meanwhile, a layup by Dubljevic ignited a 0-13 run in which Sam Van Rossom and Thomas combined for 9 points, giving Valencia a 48-54 lead. Waczynski tried to rescue Unicaja with a couple of three-pointers, but Kravtsov shined with another alley-oop dunk, while Thomas, Diot and Sato each struck from downtown to give Valencia a double-digit margin, 57-68, after 30 minutes. Oliver Lafayette scored off a steal and Musli added free throws to get Unicaja a bit closer, 63-69, with six minutes left. A jump hook by Dubljevic and a huge basket by Fernando San Emeterio sealed the outcome, 68-75, with 1:07 left.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Eurocupbasketball.com
No results found.
Referees: KOROMILAS, ELIAS; ROMANO, DAVID; FRITZ, CLEMENS
Attendance: 5578
By Quarter1234
Unicaja Malaga2325913
Valencia Basket19222710
End of Quarter1234
Unicaja Malaga23485770
Valencia Basket19416878
Unicaja Malaga
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 OKOUO, VINY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 FOGG, KYLE 12:22 1 0/4 0/1 1/2 1 2 3     2   1 1 1 -5
9 DIAZ, ALBERTO 18:14 5 1/2 1/3     1 1 4 1 1     2   5
11 DIEZ, DANIEL 21:22 3 0/2 1/2     3 3   1           4
15 SMITH, JAMAR 18:53 17 2/3 4/5 1/1   1 1 1   2   1   2 16
16 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 23:09 11 3/4 0/1 5/6   1 1 2 1 2 1 1 3 9 16
20 LAFAYETTE, OLIVER 7:22 2 1/2 0/4   1   1 1 1       2   -2
21 WACZYNSKI, ADAM 18:38 12 0/1 4/6         1   2     2   6
23 BROOKS, JEFF 26:32 7 3/5 0/1 1/1 3 5 8 1 1 1 1   2 3 15
43 SUAREZ, CARLOS 20:09 4 0/2 1/2 1/2   1 1 3 1       1 6 10
44 MUSLI, DEJAN 19:07 8 3/6   2/2 1   1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 6
55 NDIAYE, HAMADY 14:12   0/1       2 2 1     2   1   3
Team           3 4 7               7
Totals 200:00 70 13/32 11/25 11/14 9 20 29 15 7 11 5 4 16 22 81
        40.6% 44% 78.6%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Valencia Basket
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 THOMAS, WILL 26:33 15 3/4 3/5   2 2 4     2 1   2   13
8 DIOT, ANTOINE 16:40 9 2/3 1/3 2/2       7 1 1     2 3 14
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 19:35 7 3/6 0/1 1/1 1   1 2   1     1 1 5
10 SATO, ROMAIN 18:43 11 1/2 3/3 0/1   1 1     1       1 10
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 25:58 9 3/7 1/3   3 7 10 4 2 3   1 2 4 17
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 6:06           1 1 2 1   1   1   4
17 MARTINEZ, RAFA 11:36     0/2     1 1 1       1 3   -4
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 2:50                              
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 21:17 4 2/6 0/2   1 3 4 2       1 2 3 4
30 SASTRE, JOAN 26:06 13 2/5 3/4     2 2 2 1 1     3 2 12
43 SIKMA, LUKE 12:34 3 1/2   1/2 3 3 6     3 1 1 4 1 1
55 KRAVTSOV, VIACHESLAV 12:02 7 3/4   1/2 1   1       1 1 2 1 5
Team           2 3 5               5
Totals 200:00 78 20/39 11/23 5/8 13 23 36 20 5 12 4 5 22 16 86
        51.3% 47.8% 62.5%
Head coach: MARTINEZ, PEDRO

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN
Unicaja Malaga
"We thought we had the game under the parameters we wanted, but the third quarter was notorious, in the sense that we didn't go out with the rhythm this game required. After that, we tried to do well, with intensity and rhythm, closing passing lines, but we didn't deserve to win the game. Now, we must win over there. We have to be more proactive on defense, not try to control our lead and play with more intensity. That generated the third-quarter run. We won the fourth quarter, but what happened in the third quarter was excessive. We had a good attitude in general, but not enough to win. We allowed them to rebound and had 6 turnovers in the third quarter. We lack a touch of experience. We won three quarters and lost one, but it means nothing if you lose the game."
MARTINEZ, PEDRO
Valencia Basket
"Unicaja had a good start and hit three-pointers with high percentages in the first half, showing a good level of aggressiveness. It is difficult to stay in the game with 9-of-11 three-point shooting. We read the game in a positive way; if they were able to hit 9 of 11 again in the second half, we would have to congratulate them. We waited for our moment in game and played really well. After a technical foul, the game turned into a very physical game and it was very difficult for us to pass the ball and play. We played good defense and managed to hold the ball well. We came here to play an 80-minte game and won these 40. Unicaja played with a lot of heart. We have to have maximum excitement and respect. We play against them again on Wednesday and there is something very important: we were able to overcome bad times. We didn't lose control in our worst moments and that allowed us to grow. I am sure we will play another very tough game on Wednesday."