2016-17SemifinalsGame 3
Valencia Basket 90
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 75
March 22, 2017 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 LA FONTETA

Valencia thrashes Jerusalem, reaches EuroCup Finals

Valencia Basket advanced to the EuroCup Finals for the fifth time in club history by routing Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 90-75 in front of an outstanding basketball atmosphere at a sold-out Fuente De San Luis on Wednesday. Valencia will face Unicaja Malaga in the second all-Spanish final in competition history (Joventut Badalona and Akasvayu Girona fought for the EuroCup trophy in 2008). Fernando San Emeterio led six Valencia scorers in double figures with 15 points. Bojan Dubljevic added 14, Romain Sato and Luke Sikma each scored 12, Rafa Martinez contributed 11 and Pierre Oriola 10 for Valencia. Curtis Jerrells led Jerusalem with 19 points and Amare Stoudemire added 17. Valencia had an excellent first half, hitting 15-of-24 two-point shots (62.5%), outrebounding Jerusalem 15-7, collecting 5 steals and forcing the visitors into 11 turnovers to take a 44-32 margin at the break. Valencia had a 31-point third quarter which was close to perfection - 9-of-10 two-point shots, 3-of-3 three-pointers, 4-of-4 free throws – to lead 75-50 after 30 minutes and never looked back.

Sikma got Valencia going with a reverse layup that Jerrells bettered with a triple for a 2-3 Jerusalem lead. Dubljevic stepped up with back-to-back layups, Sato added a jumper and Martinez struck from downtown for an 11-6 Valencia edge. Jerome Dyson joined the three-point shootout and Stoudemire added a layup-plus-foul, but a 6-0 run that Joan Sastre capped with a driving layup boosted the hosts' lead to 21-14. An off-balance three-pointer by Jerrells fixed the score at 21-17 after 10 minutes. Will Thomas hit a triple and San Emeterio added a driving layup to give Valencia fresh air at 26-21. Bar Timor nailed a triple and Shawn Jones dunked, but Oriola and San Emeterio kept Valencia in charge, 31-26. Yotam Halperin took over with a three-point play, however Oriola, Sam Van Rossom and Sato fueled a 9-1 run that made it a double-digit game, 42-30. Travis Peterson and Van Rossom exchanged layups for a 44-32 score at halftime. Sato and Martinez each buried one from beyond the arc in an 8-0 run to start the second half that broke the game open. Stoudemire and Jerrells tried to change things for Jerusalem, but an unstoppable Sikma further extended the difference. Jerusalem improved its offense, but only managed to trade baskets as an alley-oop slam by Sikma, a big basket by Martinez and a three-point play by San Emeterio sealed the outcome, 75-50, after 30 minutes. Nothing really changed in the fourth quarter, as Valencia kept a safe margin all the way until the final buzzer and its fans celebrated in the aisles.

Valencia Basket celebrates - Valencia Basket - EC16 (photo Valencia Basket - Miguel Angel Polo)
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: RADOVIC, SRETEN; PASTUSIAK, PIOTR; BAUMANIS, INGUS
Attendance: 7203
By Quarter1234
Valencia Basket21233115
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem17151825
End of Quarter1234
Valencia Basket21447590
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem17325075
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 22:25 6 1/3 1/3 1/2 1 2 3 2       1   1 6
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 26:42 4 2/5 0/2     1 1 2 1 1         2
10 SATO, ROMAIN 18:26 12 3/4 1/1 3/3 1 1 2   1 1 1 1 4 2 11
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 19:43 14 5/11 1/3 1/1 4 3 7     1     4 4 12
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 4:38                   1     1   -2
17 MARTINEZ, RAFA 25:25 11 2/2 2/3 1/2   4 4 4 1 2       2 18
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 17:59 10 4/4   2/2   3 3 1   1 1   5 1 10
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 21:59 15 4/5 2/2 1/1       4 2 2     1 4 21
30 SASTRE, JOAN 20:52 6 2/2 0/1 2/2 1 1 2 2 1         2 12
42 FERRANDO, LUIS 1:47                         1   -1
43 SIKMA, LUKE 19:53 12 4/6 1/2 1/1 2 2 4 3 2 1   1   3 19
52 SAVIC, EMIL 0:11                              
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 90 27/42 8/17 12/14 11 17 28 18 8 10 2 3 16 19 110
        64.3% 47.1% 85.7%
Head coach: MARTINEZ, PEDRO
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
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 STOUDEMIRE, AMAR'E 29:26 17 6/8   5/6 2 1 3     4 2   3 9 21
2 DYSON, JEROME 21:12 5 1/1 1/4         3   2     2 2 3
7 RON, OR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 ELIYAHU, LIOR 21:37 8 4/6     1 4 5 3 1       4   11
10 HALPERIN, YOTAM 18:09 8 2/2 1/3 1/1 1 2 3 3 1       2 1 12
11 TIMOR, BAR 19:33 9 3/6 1/2         2 1 1     1   6
21 KINSEY, TARENCE 23:18 1 0/4 0/2 1/2   2 2 1 3 4   1   2 -3
22 JONES, SHAWN 10:34 6 3/5     2 1 3           2 1 6
42 PETERSON, TRAVIS 18:23 2 1/1 0/1   1 1 2 1   1 1   3   1
55 JERRELLS, CURTIS 37:48 19 2/4 5/8     1 1 1 1 4   1 2 1 11
91 ROSEFELT, ISAAC DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           3 2 5     1         4
Totals 200:00 75 22/37 8/20 7/9 10 14 24 14 7 17 3 2 19 16 72
        59.5% 40% 77.8%
Head coach: PIANIGIANI, SIMONE

Head Coaches

MARTINEZ, PEDRO
Valencia Basket
"We played an excellent game, one of the best we played this season, on offense, defense, focus, defensive effort, pick-and-roll defense... it was a great game. Jerusalem has great players, but we managed to play good defense against them. On offense, we did really well; all players reached a great level. We are very happy to play our second final this season. We have to think about our next game. We are playing at a very high competitive rhythm and cannot slow down or relax right now. We have many important goals right in front of us. We played an exceptional third quarter, one to remember. We played at a great rhythm and had great defense, both in the passing lanes and pick-and-roll situations. We did really well and our opponent, which was already down by 12 at halftime, saw our start of the third quarter and gave up. We went for it and broke the game open. It is great that it was that way, because everyone saw Jerusalem's playing level in this series. They beat us at home in the regular season action and in Game 1 of the playoffs, they were up by 2 points with eight minutes left. They had an easy win in Game 2 and today's score is not realistic. In my opinion, the first half was more decisive than the third quarter. We did a good job in the first half, giving us a good lead which, added to the good start we had after the break, was too much for them."
PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
"We knew the type of defense they would do against Amare Stoudemire, but aggressiveness made the difference in this game, and this is not the kind of thing you can talk about in a timeout. I have to congratulate my players for finishing the game with their heads up high, competing against Valencia face to face and reaching Game 3. We have to be proud about that; teams with a higher budget didn't make it here. We had our injuries, like Brian Randle, just like Valencia had its own injuries. We had too many turnovers. Congratulations to Valencia. I am very proud of my players."

Players

ORIOLA, PIERRE
Valencia Basket
"Playing in front of these fans is a different story; it is great! I am very happy with tonight's win and the best is yet to come - the finals! We did a great job tonight and above all, our fans were awesome. They really deserve this EuroCup trophy, which would be the icing on the cake. My first season with Valencia is like a dream come true; we played the Copa del Rey final and now made it to the EuroCup Finals. We have to focus on the next game and there is nothing to celebrate. We have to be cautious and want to win it - and if we do, we will celebrate big time."
VIVES, GUILLEM
Valencia Basket
"We played a huge game and our fans helped us a lot. Their energy was contagious and playing in front of our people, we have an extra speed. We proved it today by playing a great game. It was a team win and everybody contributed. I didn't have good feeling before the game, but I talked to Pedro [Martinez] and told him that if he wanted, I was ready to play some minutes. I did what I could, but the most important thing is that we played very well and are now in the final. Now, I hope to be 100% soon. It was a tough series against a top team with high-level players in European basketball. We controlled the game rhythm, and now need two more wins to lift the trophy."
STOUDEMIRE, AMAR'E
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
"I feel like we could have won the game. They played great tonight. They played really well."