2018-19QuarterfinalsGame 1
Valencia Basket 75
Rytas Vilnius 64
March 05, 2019 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 LA FONTETA

Valencia downs Rytas in Game 1

Valencia Basket struck first in the 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals by topping Rytas Vilnius 75-64 at home on Tuesday. Valencia took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three playoffs series, which now moves to the Lithuanian capital for Game 2 on Friday. Matt Thomas led the winners with 15 points and Fernando San Emeterio, Alberto Abalde and Aaron Doornekamp each scored 10 for Valencia. D.J. Seeley and Deividas Sirvydis paced Rytas with 11 points apiece and Art Parakhouski and Mindaugas Girdziunas each had 10 for the visitors, which led 12-20 after 10 minutes. Valencia rallied in the second quarter, but Seeley gave Rytas a 26-30 edge at the break. Everything changed after that, as Matt Thomas helped Valencia to a 48-43 margin after 30 minutes and the hosts pulled away to 70-52 and never looked back.

Eimantas Bendzius got Rytas going with a triple and Chris Kramer added a driving layup for a 0-5 lead. San Emeterio stepped up with a three-point play and Mike Tobey added a three-pointer that gave Valencia its first lead, 6-5. Parakouski scored down low and erased Joan Sastre's layup with a jump hook. Abalde downed a turnaround jumper, but Seeley struck from downtown and Bendzius hit free throws in an 0-8 run that Martynas Echodas capped with a put-back layup that prompted Valencia to call timeout at 10-17. A layup by Doornekamp and a three-pointer by Sirvydis fixed the score at 12-20 after 10 minutes. Tobey rescued Valencia with a put-back layup early in the second quarter, igniting an 8-0 run in which Doornekamp and Matt Thomas each struck from beyond the arc to tie it at 20-20. Parakhouski dunked, but Guillem Vives and Abalde did better with back-to-back three-pointers. Parakhouski kept pushing Rytas with a layup and Mindaugas Girdziunas hit a triple before Kramer left the game with a knee injury. A free throw by Echodas and a buzzer-beating jumper by Seeley gave the visitors a 26-30 edge at halftime. San Emeterio and Sam Van Rossom buried back-to-back jumpers for a 30-30 tie soon after the break. Parakhouski stepped up with a put-back layup only to see San Emeterio erase it with a jumper. Louis Labeyrie dunked before Rytas called timeout at 34-32. Rok Stipcevic, Vives and Arnas Butkevicius buried respective three-pointers, but a jumper by Matt Thomas gave Valencia a 39-38 edge. Will Thomas scored in the low post and followed Labeyrie's alley-oop layup with free throws. Matt Thomas downed a jumper, however, free throws by Sirvydis kept Rytas within 48-43 after 30 minutes. Vives scored in penetration early in the fourth quarter, but Sirvydis did better with a triple. Matt Thomas answered from downtown and added a dunk for a 55-46 cushion. Seeley nailed a three-pointer, but a red-hot Matt Thomas answered from beyond the arc and Will Thomas added a tip-in that broke the game open, 60-49. A wild three-point play by San Emeterio and a fastbreak layup by Van Rossom sealed the outcome, 70-52, as Rytas never recovered.

Pivotal performer

Matt Thomas provided the fireworks that Valencia needed to win the game. He had 12 of his 15 points in the final 14 minutes, allowing Valencia to get a good-as-gold win. He added 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 16.

Game-changing moment

With the game tied at 40-40, Will Thomas and Matt Thomas fueled an 8-1 run highlighted by Labeyrie's alley-oop layup. All of a sudden, Valencia had a 48-41 lead late in the third quarter, inspiring the hosts to seal the outcome in the final 10 minutes.

Stellar stat

Valencia hit 5 of 14 two-point shots (35.7%) and 5 of 21 from downtown (23.8%) before halftime. It did much better after the break, downing 13 of 24 shots inside the arc (54.2%) and 5 of 12 from three-point range (41.7%). A more balanced offense led to a comfortable win.

Did you notice?

Valencia became the first club to reach 200 games in the EuroCup. The Spanish powerhouse is in its 12th EuroCup season and won the title in 2003, 2010 and 2014. This was its 149th win in the competition. Valencia has lost 50 times and tied once - 85-85 against Joventut Badalona on February 8, 2005.

Next game

These teams face each other in Game 2 of this best-of-three playoffs series at Siemens Arena in the Lithuanian capital on Friday at 18:00 CET.

Fernando San Emeterio - Valencia Basket (photo Miguel Angel Polo - Valencia) - EC18
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; KARTAL, ERSAN; JURAS, MARKO
Attendance: 7438
By Quarter1234
Valencia Basket12142227
Rytas Vilnius20101321
End of Quarter1234
Valencia Basket12264875
Rytas Vilnius20304364
Valencia Basket
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
6 ABALDE, ALBERTO 15:21 10 1/2 2/3 2/2 1 3 4             2 14
7 LABEYRIE, LOUIS 15:46 5 2/5 0/1 1/2 2 3 5             2 7
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 22:11 4 2/5 0/3     5 5 3 1 1   1 4 1 2
10 THOMAS, WILL 21:39 6 2/4 0/2 2/2 2 3 5 2   1     2 1 7
13 TOBEY, MIKE 21:56 5 1/4 1/4   5 4 9 2 1   4 1 1 1 14
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 6:06   0/1 0/1     2 2 1   1     1   -1
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 18:53 8 1/1 2/5         3   1     2   5
17 MARTINEZ, RAFA 0:07                              
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 22:14 10 4/8 0/2 2/2   3 3 1 1       1 6 14
21 THOMAS, MATT 20:19 15 3/4 3/6     2 2 2 1 1   1   2 16
30 SASTRE, JOAN 13:59 2 1/2       1 1 1   1     4 1 -1
42 DOORNEKAMP, AARON 21:29 10 1/2 2/6 2/2   1 1           2 2 6
Team           3 4 7               7
Totals 200:00 75 18/38 10/33 9/10 13 31 44 15 4 6 4 3 17 18 90
        47.4% 30.3% 90%
Head coach: PONSARNAU, JAUME
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
Rytas Vilnius
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 SIRVYDIS, DEIVIDAS 15:05 11   3/3 2/2   2 2     1     2 1 11
3 KRAMER, CHRIS 12:47 3 1/3 0/1 1/3   4 4 2 1     1   1 5
6 STIPCEVIC, ROK 21:20 3   1/5   1 3 4 4   4     1 2 4
7 PARAKHOUSKI, ARTSIOM 26:54 10 5/11     1 4 5   1 1 3   3 1 10
9 PILAUSKAS, AISTIS 2:30                         1   -1
11 SEELEY, DENNIS 30:46 11 1/9 3/6   1 3 4 3 1 1   2 1 3 7
13 NORMANTAS, MARGIRIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 ECHODAS, MARTYNAS 16:56 5 2/5   1/2 3 5 8 1   1     2 1 8
18 GIRDZIUNAS, MINDAUGAS 13:12 10 1/2 2/3 2/2       1       1   2 10
22 BENDZIUS, EIMANTAS 32:31 5 0/2 1/7 2/2 1 4 5 2         4 2 2
23 BLAZEVIC, MAREK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
51 BUTKEVICIUS, ARNAS 27:59 6 0/2 1/2 3/4 2 3 5 1 1 1     4 4 8
Team           2 1 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 64 10/34 11/27 11/15 11 29 40 14 4 10 3 4 18 17 66
        29.4% 40.7% 73.3%
Head coach: ADOMAITIS, DAINIUS

Head Coaches

PONSARNAU, JAUME
Valencia Basket
"We started the game with not very clear ideas on how to attack their offense. We had a clear mind on defense, but they were moving the ball and finding advantages. We lacked rebounding and punch. We went to the bench and found more inspired players with aggressiveness. That allowed us to balance the game. Louis Labeyrie was key; he changed the game momentum because once we were able to rebound, we started to find more players - Matt Thomas, our centers, both point guards. We faced this series with the feeling that things did not go right for us. 'Dubi' and Abalde got injured, Mike Tobey was not able to work with us during the break. We had to discard Diot because he wasn't fit. Things did not go right, but we have a victory and defended our home court. I want to highlight my players' effort and commitment. 'Dubi' is not in his best shape, but did everything he could to help the team. Our players believe and give everything they have."
ADOMAITIS, DAINIUS
Rytas Vilnius
"The worst scenario just happened. First of all, Kramer's injury. Secondly, after the halftime, we lost our concentration both in offense and defense. This was the key for this game. In the first half we pretty much succeeded, but later we collapsed. This is the main thing for the series. If we want to beat Valencia, our concentration and discipline must be at the highest level."

Players

VAN ROSSOM, SAM
Valencia Basket
"I think we were playing good defense in the first half, they only scored 30 points, but the problem was in offense. We only scored 26 and are used to scoring more. I think that, in the second half, we found better solutions on defense and also played better on offense. We controlled the rebounds a little bit better and were able to make some runs. In the first half, shots were not falling and in that moment, we had to stay calm and keep working, keep taking the shots that they give you because at some point they would fall. We need to keep our confidence in our shooting and I think that is what we did. We shot better in the second half and played with more patience on offense."
THOMAS, MATT
Valencia Basket
"We had a slow first half only scoring 26 points, but I think we were getting good shots, we just weren't hitting them. we stuck with out offense and shots started to fall in the second half and we started getting stops too. And whenever we can get out in transition that helps, too. [On Friday] it's going to be a totally different atmosphere, it's going to be a hard game just like tonight was. We're looking forward to it."
STIPCEVIC, ROK
Rytas Vilnius
"I think that the main issue right now is losing Chris [Kramer] and his physical condition. It affected us, but this is basketball and we have to learn a lesson from this game, head back to Vilnius, to our house, our court and show them we can come back here for Game 3. We cannot forget about this; we have to learn our lesson. We need to take what we did good and bad and improve because we made big mistakes. I think they punished us because of our mistakes. We have to keep that in mind and believe we can beat them."
BENDZIUS, EIMANTAS
Rytas Vilnius
"Chris [Kramer] got injured and we were left with one point guard. We missed a lot of open shots and they punished us in fastbreaks. They found the rhythm and got the win by 10 points. We had to control their offense. We need to come back, watch video and see what we did wrong - mistakes, turnovers, and not make them in the next game."