Joventut finishes group undefeated

U18 Joventut Badalona completed its group play at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Valencia with a perfect 3-0 mark after knocking off host side U18 Valencia Basket 74-86 in Group B. Arnau Ramos scored 15 points to lead the way for the 2013 continental champion, which will square off with U18 FC Barcelona in the first-place game on Tuesday. Joventut watched a 19-point lead dwindle to 4 points in the final 3 minutes but held on to win. Miguel Allen had 12 points and 7 rebounds while Guillem Vazquez tallied 11 points and 9 rebounds and Ruben De Oliveira and Jordi Rodriguez both chipped in 10 points in the victory. Freds Bagatskis tallied 17 points and Ivan Aleksandrov scored 12 points for Valencia, which dropped to 0-3 and will play for seventh place.

Joventut scored the first 6 points of the game and Allen's three-pointer made it 3-9. Lucas Mari scored 4 points at the other end in an 8-0 run to put Valencia up 11-9, but Rodriguez and De Oliveira both hit triples in a 4-11 answer and Joventut led 17-22 after 10 minutes. Bagatskis knocked down 2 three-pointers to start the second quarter and push the home side ahead 23-22 but Joventut gained control with a 5-18 surge for a 30-44 advantage that was trimmed to 36-48 at intermission.

Valencia failed to score for more than 2 minutes to start the second half and Allen hit from deep in a 0-9 start for a 36-57 Joventut cushion. The margin was still 41-62 when Aleksandrov poured in 8 points in a 17-3 comeback to pull Valencia within 58-65. The score was 58-68 after 30 minutes. Omar Thiam's three-pointer had Joventut ahead 60-72 with 8 minutes left when Valencia charged back. Javier Romero and Bagatskis both knocked down triples in a 12-4 surge to pull within 72-76 with under 3 minutes to play. After Conrad Martinez answered with 4 free throws, Valencia missed successive shots and Rodriguez got out on the break for a layup for a 72-82 cushion with 87 seconds remaining to decide the game.