2020-21Regular SeasonRound 7
Valencia Basket 86
AX Armani Exchange Milan 81
November 06, 2020 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 LA FONTETA

Van Rossom leads Valencia to fourth win

In an intense game that went down to the wire, Valencia Basket confirmed its good moment by downing AX Armani Exchange Milan 86-81 at La Fonteta on Friday. Valencia improved to 4-2 while Milan dropped to 3-2. Sam Van Rossom led the winners with 21 points. Klemen Prepelic added 14 and Nikola Kalinic had 10 for Valencia. Shavon Shields led Milan with 17 points. Kyle Hines added 13, Vladimir Micov had 12 while Michael Roll and Zach LeDay each got 10. Valencia led most of the way and an outstanding Van Rossom allowed the hosts to seal the outcome down the stretch.

Guillem Vives and Van Rossom got Valencia going three-pointers. Shields and Sergio Rodriguez each downed jumpers and Roll added a triple but Bojan Dubljevic kept the hosts in charge. Rodriguez and Roll kept pacing Milan but Derrick Williams dunked and Dubljevic made Valencia regain the lead, 14-12. Leday and Jeff Brooks dunked but Williams kept the hosts ahead, and Martin Hermannsson beats Shields' jumper with a triple that ended the first quarter 24-18. Gigi Datome stepped up with a three-point play early in the second quarter. Mike Tobey answered with a dunk-and-foul, Hermannsson scored in penetration and Prepelic buried a triple for a 32-23 Valencia lead. Louis Labeyrie struck from downtown and added a layup but Rodriguez and Roll got Milan closer. Hines and Micov combined for a 0-6 run but Prepelic restored a 39-33 Valencia lead. Shields scored down low, Hines added consecutive baskets and Datome sank a three-pointer that tied it, 42-42, and a buzzer-beating jumper by Micov fixed the halftime score at 42-44. Hines dunked right after the break and Shields added a driving layup for a 42-48 Milan lead, after a 0-11 run. Kalinic had the opening 4 points in an 8-0 run that Vives capped with a layup, making Milan stop the game at 50-48. Dubljevic swished a triple but LeDay and Kaleb Tarczewski kept Milan within 53-52. Kalinic scored down low and Labeyrie ignited the crowd with an alley-oop slam. Shields followed a jumper with a three-pointer and Micov added a jump hook to keep Milan close, 61-59. Van Rossom rescued Valencia, making it 66-61 after 30 minutes. Prepelic struck from beyond the arc early in the fourth but Roll and Hines kept Milan close, 69-65. Tobey scored in the paint and another triple by Prepelic boosted Valencia's lead, but Shields and LeDay fueled a 0-6 run for a 74-71 score with 6 minutes left. LeDay dunked to tie the game, 76-76, before Kalinic dunked and Micov matched that with a layup. Van Rossom made free throws and buried a triple that gave Valencia fresh air, 83-79, with a minute to go. Hines scored down low but Van Rossom and Prepelic sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Pivotal performer

Sam Van Rossom controlled the game tempo and was always there when his team needed a go-to guy. He finished with 21 points on 4-of-7 three-point shots, adding 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 19.

Game-changing moment

Shavon Shields brought Milan as close as 80-79 entering the final minute. But Van Rossom took matters into his own hands with a big three-pointer, soon added a free throw and Prepelic hit two more to seal the outcome. Valencia brought out its best defensive version when it mattered most.

Stellar stat

Valencia shot better from downtown and took better care of the ball. Valencia hit 11-of-27 three-pointers (40.7%) and Milan just buried 6-of-20 (30%). The hosts finished the game with 19 assists and just 8 turnovers, while Milan only had 14 assists and picked up 13 turnovers.

Did you know?

It is Valencia's first-ever home win against Milan. The Italian powerhouse had beaten Valencia three times at La Fonteta: on November 11, 2010, 69-80, on November 15, 2017, 98-103 in double overtime, and on March 5, 2020, 81-83 in overtime on a game-winning three-pointer by Vladimir Micov at the buzzer.

Next game

Valencia visits FC Bayern Munich on Friday, November 13 at 20:30 CET. Earlier on that day, Milan visits Khimki Moscow Region.

Sam Van Rossom - Valencia Basket - EB20
Friday, November 6, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; JAVOR, DAMIR; LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT
Attendance: 390
By Quarter1234
Valencia Basket24182420
AX Armani Exchange Milan18261720
End of Quarter1234
Valencia Basket24426686
AX Armani Exchange Milan18446181
Valencia Basket
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 PREPELIC, KLEMEN 19:53 14 1/1 3/5 3/4   2 2 5     1   4 3 18
4 PRADILLA, JAIME DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 PUERTO, JOSEP 5:37     0/1           1       3 1 -2
7 LABEYRIE, LOUIS 23:46 9 3/6 1/4     1 1 1 1 1         5
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 25:35 21 2/5 4/7 5/6 1 1 2 2         2 3 19
10 TOBEY, MIKE 14:33 5 2/5 0/1 1/1 1 5 6       1 1 2 1 6
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 31:36 10 3/6 0/2 4/4 1 4 5 2 1 3     3 4 11
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 25:27 9 1/3 1/1 4/4 2 5 7 2 3 3 1 1 3 5 18
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 24:38 5 1/2 1/4     2 2 2 1       2 3 7
21 WILLIAMS, DERRICK 14:25 8 4/4 0/1         1             8
24 HERMANNSSON, MARTIN 14:30 5 1/3 1/1         4 1 1     1 1 7
45 FERRANDO, GUILLEM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           3 2 5               5
Totals 200:00 86 18/35 11/27 17/19 8 22 30 19 8 8 3 2 20 21 102
        51.4% 40.7% 89.5%
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
AX Armani Exchange Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 LEDAY, ZACH 25:44 10 3/5 1/1 1/1   6 6 2 1   1   1 3 20
3 MORETTI, DAVIDE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 25:17 12 4/7 1/2 1/2 1 1 2 1 1 1     2 3 11
10 ROLL, MICHAEL 21:44 10 2/2 2/6         1         2 1 6
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 26:29 8 3/6 0/6 2/2   4 4 4   5 1   2 2 3
15 TARCZEWSKI, KALEB 14:21 1     1/2 1 3 4 1 1 1     4 2 3
19 BILIGHA, PAUL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 CINCIARINI, ANDREA 8:41           1 1 1   1     2 1  
31 SHIELDS, SHAVON 33:16 17 6/9 1/2 2/3   1 1 2 1 2   2 1 3 14
32 BROOKS, JEFF 4:40 2 1/2 0/1   2   2               2
42 HINES, KYLE 21:12 13 6/7   1/2 1 6 7 1   1   1 3 3 17
70 DATOME, LUIGI 18:36 8 2/5 1/2 1/1 1 4 5 1   2     4 2 6
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 81 27/43 6/20 9/13 8 26 34 14 4 13 2 3 21 20 84
        62.8% 30% 69.2%
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE

Head Coaches

PONSARNAU, JAUME
Valencia Basket

"I am very worried about our injuries [Derrick Williams and Mike Tobey]. It is the most important problem in professional sports, injuries. These players work every day, and this is bad luck. We played against a very good team that has great talent and a very good coach who is a teacher for us. We searched for a lot of things to change the feel of the game, found the inspiration of some players and played as a collective. I am happy, but not with the injuries."

"I think we started the game looking for our rhythm, adjusting well to their mismatches in particular. I believe that Sammy [Van Rossom] and Guillem [Vives] ran the team really well and we were focused. The game became complicated when they put a lineup that could switch on defense. We played bad on offense against that and lost control. That allowed them to reach halftime with the lead but players that entered the game gave a lot of inspiration. It was difficult but we fought back as a team, reading which players could have advantages and how to read them. It became very tactical and we found a good moment in which we passed the ball well and found good shots and driving options. The game was decided down the stretch."

MESSINA, ETTORE
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"I think it was a hard-fought game on both parts. Congratulations to Coach Ponsarnau and his team for the win. It could have gone both ways - I think we missed two or three layups and a couple of free throws down the stretch that cost us a lot. I think we competed but our defense was not at the level required for 40 minutes. Too many ups and downs and too many dribble penetrations that we allowed. But we had a chance, it was a balanced game but we take the loss and move on. It has been a good game and I go home preparing the next one."

Players

VAN ROSSOM, SAM
Valencia Basket
"Above all, I am happy for the win. I think we played a great game as a team and found a better way to attack the switch in the second half. An important win for us. We knew this was an important game for us. We came out very well and played good. In the second quarter we had a little bad stretch, but I think we corrected it in the second half and played pretty well."
DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN
Valencia Basket
"I think we showed that we are a good team. We played like a team, which is most important, as I always say. It is a big victory for us but bad things happened, Mike [Tobey] got injured and everybody is now hoping that he is well and can recover fast. All victories give you confidence, and for us, it is one more."
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