2007-08QuarterfinalsGame 1
DKV Joventut Badalona 77
Pamesa Valencia 67
April 10, 2008 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 PALAVELA

DKV Joventut thrashing Pamesa Valencia 77-67

DKV Joventut send a message that echoed all around the continent and advanced to the ULEB Cup semifinals by thrashing Pamesa Valencia 77-67 in an all-Spanish showdown at Palavela in Turin, Italy on Thursday night. Joventut is now set to face Galatasaray Cafe Crown in the first semifinal on Saturday at 18:30 CET while Pamesa, the first-ever ULEB Cup champion in 2003, has been eliminated from the fight to win the competition. Demond Mallet paced the winners with 16 points. Eduardo Hernandez-Sonseca added 14 while Ricky Rubio had 12 for Joventut. Shammond Williams led Pamesa with 25 points while Ruben Douglas added 17. Williams kept Pamesa within 17-16 late in the first quarter, but his team went scoreless in the next 8 minutes. Meanwhile, Rubio, Mallet and Barton fueled a mamooth 19-0 run that broke the game open, 36-16. Joventut stayed ahead from that moment and a midcourt bomb by Pau Ribas gave his team its biggest margin, 61-37, after three quarters. Williams took over with a rain of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter but it happened to be too little, too late for his team.

Joventut had a surprise starter in teenager Pere Tomas, but it was Pamesa that got rolling first. A pair of Joventut turnovers led to a layup by Williams and a four-point triple-plus-free throw by Ruben Douglas at 0-6. Joventut got on the board with a hook shot from Jerome Moiso and a reverse layup from Rubio. Joventut head coach Aito Garcia Reneses took out Fernandez after his first foul, while Moiso tied it up 6-6 his team with a reverse layup. A triple by Williams put Pamesa in front again, but Ferran Laviña blasted his own to tie, 9-9, for Joventut. The shootout from downtown continued with Mallet of Joventut and Fred House of Pamesa trading triples. Mallet came back, however, and struck again from the arc to make it 15-12 Joventut. Fernandez returned and fed Hernandez-Sonseca for a dunk, after which the scoring stalled until Williams made 2 of 3 free throws and a jumper following the offensive rebound to get Pamesa back within 17-16. Joventut finished the quarter stronger, however. Laviña drilled another three-pointer, Mallet scored inside and Lubos Barton went 3 for 3 at the line to vault Joventut to a 25-16 lead after 10 minutes.

Sonseca had a big block on Albert Miralles, as Pamesa could not find its rhythm in offense. Both teams went scoreless in the opening three minutes of the second quarter, however, as Joventut tried to run its offense through Fernandez without much success. Joventut was all over the place in defense while an alleyoop layup by Barton gave his team its first double-digit lead, 27-16. Pamesa called a much-needed timeout, but Sonseca made free throws while Rubio followed a bomb from downtown with a fast break layup to break the game open, 34-16. Pamesa kept missing one shot after another while Sonseca took over with a power basket that made it a 20-point game, 36-16, after a mamooth 19-0 run. Pamesa had missed 9 straight shots and committed 6 turnovers until Williams struck from downtown. Moiso had a monster block on House's dunk attempt that allowed Jan Jagla to score in the other end. House took revenge with a driving layup and fed Dejan Milojevic for an easy basket for a 38-23 Pamesa deficit. Fernandez sank a corner triple off a Joventut timeout while Mallet struck one from the top of the key. By the time that Douglas joined the three-point shootout, he only managed to get Pamesa within 44-26 at halftime.

Pamesa needed a major comeback early in the second half to get back in the game and Mindaugas Timinskas tried to ignit one with a corner three-pointer but Jagla stepped up with a put-back layup for a 46-29 Joventut lead. Douglas made free throws, as Pamesa improved its defense early in the third quarter. Joventut did not panic, however, and started to play with long possessions. Fernandez made 3-for-4 free throws to restore a 18-point Joventut margin, 49-31. Pamesa tried a small lineup and Garces scored around the basket but Mallet answered from downtown for a 52-33 Joventut lead. Pamesa did not give up, as Victor Claver scored in penetration but Rubio provided a highlight with a left-handed layup, Joventut only allowed its opponents to trade baskets now. Joventut kept executing its game plan to perfection, with outstanding defense and a patient offense to keep its lead alive. Barton grabbed a loose ball and dunked it for a 56-35 lead. Moiso shined with a reverse layup while Miralles dunked it in the other end. Ribas fired in a buzzer-beating midcourt shot to seal the outcome, 61-37, after three quarters.

There was little that Pamesa could do now, but it get fighting to please its fans. Joventut had Fernandez and Rubio already resting on the bench for the semifinal game against Galatasaray. Williams struck from downtown and added a fallaway jumper to get Pamesa going, but his team trailed 64-42 with 8 minutes to go. Albert Oliver also buried a three-pointer that Williams followed with another one from beyond the arc, good for a 64-48 Pamesa deficit. A red hot Williams buried his third triple in as many minutes to give Pamesa some hope, 64-51, with 6:45 remaining. Joventut called timeout but Milojevic scored in the paint to make it an 11-point game, 64-53, after a 3-16 run. Sonseca dunked it and soon added free throws but Douglas joined the three-point shootout to keep his team alive, 70-59. Sonseca stayed unstopable inside but Stanko Barac dunked it for Pamesa. Rubio scored off a backdoor pass but Douglas got Pamesa even closer, 74-64, with 3 minutes to go. Pamesa ran out of time, as Joventut kept using long possessions and powered the offensive board to make it to the next round.

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Javier Gancedo, Turin
No results found.
Referees: CICORIA, GIANPAOLO; BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; VIATOR, EDDIE
Attendance: 4500
By Quarter1234
DKV Joventut Badalona25191716
Pamesa Valencia16101130
End of Quarter1234
DKV Joventut Badalona25446177
Pamesa Valencia16263767
DKV Joventut Badalona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
00 MALLET, DEMOND 24:22 16 1/3 4/9 2/3   1 1 2 2 1     4 3 11
4 RIBAS, PAU 14:27 3 0/1 1/2         2         1   2
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 27:29 8 0/3 1/5 5/6 1 3 4 5 1 3     2 5 10
9 RUBIO, RICKY 22:05 12 4/5 1/3 1/2   7 7 2 4 4     3 3 17
11 BARTON, LUBOS 16:22 7 2/2   3/3 2 3 5 1   1     1 2 13
12 FRANCH, JOSEP DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 JAGLA, JAN 28:47 4 2/3 0/7   1 3 4   1 2 4   1   2
15 POPOVIC, PETAR 3:06   0/1                     1 1 -1
16 HERNANDEZ-SONSECA, EDU 17:58 14 4/8   6/7 2 3 5 1     2 3   5 19
18 LAVINA, FERRAN 19:41 6   2/2 0/2 1 4 5   1 2     3 2 7
19 TOMAS, PERE 6:47         1 1 2           1   1
22 MOISO, JEROME 18:56 7 3/4   1/2   4 4   1 1 2     3 14
Team           1   1     1          
Totals 200:00 77 16/30 9/28 18/25 9 29 38 13 10 15 8 3 17 24 95
        53.3% 32.1% 72%
Head coach: GARCIA RENESES, AITO
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
Pamesa Valencia
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 OLIVER, ALBERT 19:05 3 0/1 1/3     2 2 2   1     2 2 3
5 DOUGLAS, RUBEN 32:47 17 0/4 4/11 5/7 1 2 3     2     2 5 8
6 AVRAMOV, BOZHIDAR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 CLAVER, VICTOR 12:54 2 1/1 0/2     4 4   1 1     1   3
10 WILLIAMS, SHAMMOND 32:45 25 3/5 5/10 4/5   6 6 3 1 1     3 5 28
13 MIRALLES, ALBERT 11:41 2 1/4     2 1 3     2   2 4   -6
21 HOUSE, FRED 25:34 5 1/5 1/3   2 3 5 2 1 2 1 2 3 2 3
24 GARCES, RUBEN 20:34 4 2/8     1 2 3   1 1   3 2   -4
31 MILOJEVIC, DEJAN 26:45 4 2/4     2 3 5 3 2 2   1 4 2 7
33 URTASUN, ALEX DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
41 TIMINSKAS, MINDAUGAS 8:09 3 0/1 1/1   1 1 2     3     3   -2
42 BARAC, STANKO 9:46 2 1/1             1   2   1 1 5
Team                                
Totals 200:00 67 11/34 12/30 9/12 9 24 33 10 7 15 3 8 25 17 45
        32.4% 40% 75%
Head coach: KATSIKARIS, FOTIS

Head Coaches

GARCIA RENESES, AITO
DKV Joventut Badalona
"I am happy for having made it through to the semifinals, but unhappy for the second half we played, which was lamentable. We started well despite Lubos Barton, a key player for us, being on the bench with some physical problems. We got through that start with a player who has few minutes of experience, really. But our team responded, with everyone helping, even though Rudy Fernandez was off form a bit after two early fouls. Without him and later with him, the team responded really well, and I especially liked the way Jerome Moiso and Demon Mallett played so well, as much on offense as on defense. We have a lot of good things going for us, like you saw in the first quarter and we saw many times during the season. But other things aren't so good, as when we have a dip, which all teams have. But instead of going down to 80 percent of our normal level and trying to maintain there, we down to 40 percent and were incapable during all the second half of playing at a dignified level. Fortunately for us, Pamesa didn't have a good third quarter, or we would have been in trouble. You can play bad sometimes, but not so badly as we played in the second half. That worries me, but coaches worry about lot of things. At the same time, have to balance what we're doing overall, and that assessment is positive. We won all the tournaments we've been in until now - the Catalan League before the season, the King's Cup in Spain - and we're in the semifinals of the ULEB Cup now. We won a lot until now, so even though I worry, after winning the cups that we have so far, we have to recognize what these players have done and in the global view I believe they have played very well."
KATSIKARIS, FOTIS
Pamesa Valencia
"What hurt us was a loss of confidence based on the decisions we took. The whole game was one in which we couldn't make our layups inside with the big men and that, in turn, affected our defense a lot. It gave us bad balance on defense, with not enough coverage in transition, and it was very difficult to stop them that way. It's not right to say we gave up. The team wanted to win, wanted to compete. This is an important tournament for us. I don't know exactly what happened. It's very difficult to explain, but like I said, tactically we had no balance in our game. At the same time, it's not easy to control the game mentally against a team like DKV Joventut. We took bad decisions, couldn't defend and let them score easily. I think all our guys have pride, every player on Pamesa, and in a challenge like this tournament, it's not necessary to push people to give them confidence. I want to see how my team does until the end of the season before drawing conclusions. What I can say is that every game is a game of tactics and strategy. A game can change according to what happens, and it happened to us the wrong way. We started strong, playing well, and then without any reason, everything changed. We couldn't score, couldn't stop them in transition, and it continued to get worse, as seems to happen in games like this."

Players

RIBAS, PAU
DKV Joventut Badalona
"We speculated too much. We did fine at the beginning as we took a good advantage, but we tried to keep it and not rush things up. And that is not our style and it could have cost us. The game between Besiktas and Galatasaray was decided in the last play and that shows how strong teams both are. However if we play like we did in the first half today we should be fine. But if we play like in the sceond, we will be travelling home soon."
MALLET, DEMOND
DKV Joventut Badalona
"It was a tough game. Pamesa is a good team. We played well in the first half but we played horrible in the second, we made some stupid decisions. We didn't go woth the things that we had done in the first half, but we won. I am thankful but we have to do better next time. Galatasaray is a good team, we can't take them for granted. We have to do the things we normally do and that's playing defense and everything else will come in the floor."
LAVINA, FERRAN
DKV Joventut Badalona
"The score is better than we expected but our play in the second half was awful. We did what we didn't have to, in the first half we did great and got a great score. But after that we speculated and that is not the way we have to play. That's not our style and that way we can lose any game. We saw the game between Besiktas and Galatasaray and both played intense. Looking at their ULEB Cup season it was clear that any of them could win the game and there was that close ending. Now we have to rest tomorrow, get our game back and think about our mistakes. On Saturday we have to try to win and most of all, give a better image of our team."
TIMINSKAS, MINDAUGAS
Pamesa Valencia
"We cannot relax against a team like DKV Joventut, it is a team able to do string runs and this is what they did tonight. It is hard to recover for 20 points down. We kept trying in the fourth quarter but it was too late. It was a good try, but we ran out of time. We want to put ourselves in the best position possible in the Spanish League playoffs and try to reach the finals. We are in a good position in Spain and will try to do our best."
MILOJEVIC, DEJAN
Pamesa Valencia
"The end of the first quarter and the entire second quarter where the keys to the game. Joventut did very well in those minutes and this is the reason why Joventut was up by 18 at halftime. It was enough for Joventut to control the game. We woke up a little bit late, made some shots in the fourth quarter but it is not enough to beat a team like Joventut. We now want to do our best in the Spanish League, go one step further and see what we can do."
WILLIAMS, SHAMMOND
Pamesa Valencia
"Once again, our defense wasn-t what we needed it to be. We had a nice game plan but unfortunately, we were not able to overcome the deficit we got in the first half. Individual statistics and great individual games does not mean much. I wanted to win this game but unfortunately we did not get our job done. I know we are a better team than we showed. For some reasons, we are not able to put out 40 minutes. We put out 25 or 30 minutes we not all 40 minutes and it costs us sometimes."
No results found.