2020-21Regular SeasonRound 9
Valencia Basket 95
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 83
November 17, 2020 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 LA FONTETA

Valencia outlasts Panathinaikos at home

Valencia Basket recorded its third home win of the season by downing Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 95-83 at la Fonteta on Tuesday. Valencia improved to 5-3 in the standings while Panathinaikos dropped to 2-5. Klemen Prepelic led the winners with 18 points. Derrick Williams added 14, Martin Hermannsson had 13 while Mike Tobey and Fernando San Emeterio each got 11 for Valencia. Shelvin Mack led Panathinaikos with 15 points. Ioannis Papapetrou, Howard-Sant Roos and Dinos Mitoglou each added 11 for the guests. Valencia led 45-41 at halftime, kept a 70-66 margin after 30 minutes and sealed the game midway through the fourth quarter.

Aaron White got Panathinaikos going with a three-pointer but Nikola Kalinic and Prepelic soon gave Valencia its first lead, 4-3. White and Prepelic traded triples, then Marcus Foster scored in penetration for a 7-8 Panathinaikos lead. Louis Labeyrie followed a dunk with a layup, getting help from Prepelic to make Valencia regain a 14-12 lead. Foster scored in penetation and Papapetrou followed a driving layup with a jumper to give the Greens a 16-18 advantage. Labeyrie kept pacing the hosts with a tip-in, getting help from San Emeterio to put the hosts ahead, 22-21, after 10 minutes. Hermannsson and Tobey pushed Valencia further in front, 26-21, early in the second quarter. Mitoglou stepped up with a put-back layup and Mack buried a triple that tied it at 28-28. White dunked but Williams and San Emeterio provided another lead change, 33-30. Mitoglou followed a turnaround jumper with a jump hook but San Emeterio took over with a three-point play and Bojan Dubljevic scored down low for a 38-34 score. Sant-Roos and Mitoglou rescued Panathinaikos but an outstanding Prepelic gave Valencia a 45-41 lead at halftime. Georgios Papagiannis followed a dunk with a tip-in to tie the game, 45-45, right after the break. Labeyrie dunked again but Papagiannis and Papapetrou put Panathinaikos ahead, 47-49. Lefteris Bochoridis hit a three-pointer but so did Prepelic and Guillem Vives for a 53-52 score. Prepelic took over with a backdoor layup, Dubljevic bettered Foster's jumper with a triple and Kalinic added a layup that made the Greens call timeout at 60-54. Mack struck from downtown but Tobey matched that with a layup-plus-free throw. Nemanja Nedovic found his first 5 points, getting help from Mack to bring Panathinaikos within 70-66 after 30 minutes. Ben Bentil hit a corner triple early in the fourth quarter but Williams restored a 74-70 Valencia margin. Hermannsson nailed a big triple and fed Williams for a dunk in an 8-0 run that broke the game open, 82-70, with over 4 minutes left. Mack, Tobey, Sant-Roos and Williams each struck from beyond the arc, and Hermannsson joined the three-point shootout to seal the outcome, 91-78, as Panathinaikos never recovered.

Pivotal performer

Prepelic kept his good momentum going and led Valencia to a great home win. He finished the game with 18 points on near-perfect shooting: 2 of 2 two-pointers, 4 of 5 threes and 2 of 2 free throws. He added 6 assists and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 26, a new personal best.

Game-changing moment

Hermannsson took matters into his own hands early in the fourth quarter. With Valencia ahead 74-70, Hermannsson buried a triple and then sent a no-look pass to Williams for a slam. It was the start of an 8-0 run which gave Valencia full control of the game, 82-70, and the hosts never looked back.

Stellar stat

Valencia took a much better care of the ball and that allowed the hosts to get the win. Valencia finished the game with 28 assists and just 10 turnovers for a fantastic assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.8. Panathinaikos had 19 assists but picked up as many as 18 turnovers.

Did you know?

Dubljevic became Valencia's all-time top scorer, beating Rafa Martinez, who combined for 5,589 points in all competitions. Dubljevic reached 5,591 with a three-pointer midway through the third quarter. His 9 points tonight gave him a total of 5,593 in Valencia's uniform.

Next game

Both teams returning to EuroLeague action for Round 10 later on this week. Panathinaikos visits TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday while Valencia hosts Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Friday.

Klemen Prepelic - Valencia Basket - EB20
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: ROCHA, FERNANDO; HORDOV, TOMISLAV ; VYKLICKY, ROBERT
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Valencia Basket22232525
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens21202517
End of Quarter1234
Valencia Basket22457095
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens21416683
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 27:45 18 2/2 4/5 2/2   1 1 6 1 2     1 4 26
4 PRADILLA, JAIME 1:24   0/1                         -1
6 PUERTO, JOSEP 12:51 2 1/2       1 1           4 2  
7 LABEYRIE, LOUIS 17:46 8 3/4 0/1 2/2   4 4 2           1 13
10 TOBEY, MIKE 15:07 11 2/3 2/2 1/1   1 1   1 1     5 1 7
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 16:40 4 2/3 0/1     1 1 5 2 3   1 3 1 4
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 23:45 9 2/2 1/5 2/2 2 1 3 6           2 16
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 22:57 5 1/2 1/1     1 1 2 1 1     3 1 5
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 19:47 11 2/4 2/4 1/1 1 2 3     1     1 3 11
21 WILLIAMS, DERRICK 21:34 14 4/8 1/2 3/5   3 3 3 3       1 3 18
24 HERMANNSSON, MARTIN 19:16 13 1/7 2/3 5/6 1 2 3 4 1 2     1 5 15
42 JIMENEZ, MILLAN 1:08                              
Team           1 2 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 95 20/38 13/24 16/19 5 19 24 28 9 11 0 1 19 23 116
        52.6% 54.2% 84.2%
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
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 MACK, SHELVIN 18:48 15 2/2 3/3 2/2 1 1 2 4 2 2     3 1 19
6 PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS 20:26 8 4/7     3 5 8     2 1     2 14
7 BOCHORIDIS, ELEFTHERIOS 12:18 3   1/1         2         5 2 2
8 AUGUSTE, ZACH 3:51   0/1       1 1     1     1   -2
10 PAPAPETROU, IOANNIS 27:18 11 4/6 1/3 0/1 2 7 9 4 3 3     2 3 20
14 KASELAKIS, LEONIDAS 4:05           1 1           1    
17 FOSTER, MARCUS FRANKLEE 16:21 6 3/6 0/1         1   2     3   -2
26 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 18:28 5 1/4 1/5 0/1       3   2       3 1
30 WHITE, AARON 25:08 9 1/3 2/2 1/2 1 2 3           1 1 9
44 MITOGLOU, KONSTANTINOS 18:27 11 3/3 1/2 2/2 2 2 4 1 2 3     3 2 13
50 BENTIL, BEN 8:15 4   1/2 1/2   2 2     1     3 1 1
74 SANT-ROOS, HOWARD 26:35 11 3/4 1/2 2/4   2 2 4 1 2     1 4 15
Team             1 1     1          
Totals 200:00 83 21/36 11/21 8/14 9 24 33 19 8 19 1 0 23 19 90
        58.3% 52.4% 57.1%
Head coach: VOVORAS, GEORGIOS

Head Coaches

PONSARNAU, JAUME
Valencia Basket
"In the beginning, both teams were very tactical, looking for our advantages, our strengths, and looking to protect ourselves from our weaknesses. The game was balanced. We took advantage of a good three-point shooting streak, with Klemen [Prepelic] and other players, to have the initiative in the game. There was a key moment in the fourth quarter in which it was key to have several players with energy, focused. In a moment in which we could have had a physical breakdown, we had the strength and intensity to run from one side of the floor to the other with energy. That energy was key. I have to add that I am very satisfied with our passing game, which allowed us to have the consistency we needed on offense to win this game."
VOVORAS, GEORGIOS
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
"We knew from the beginning that you need to control the rhythm of the game if you want to have the chance to beat one very good offensive team that has a lot of players with great talent, who can score inside and outside, and control the turnovers. I think that was our weakest point in this game; with 19 turnovers is difficult to win an away game. I think that it was a close game in the first 30 minutes. We had our chance to win the game but in the last quarter, Valencia has had great shot selection and scored a lot of three-point shots. In that moment, they took the momentum of the game and after that, it was hard for us to come back."

Players

PREPELIC, KLEMEN
Valencia Basket
"I think we were playing good from the beginning until the end. We knew what the game plan was and stuck to it. Today, we were pretty good on offense and also, with our great efficiency on offense, the defense comes. We can be proud of this game, of the win, but Friday is a new game and if we want to make it in this playoffs race, we have to win game by game. I am new in the team and getting used to it. Obviously, coaches and teammates are helping me on a daily basis and I am trying to take adavntage of it, but this is less important. The important is that we have a very good start of the season and I hope we are going to keep on going like that."
DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN
Valencia Basket
"First of all, it was a big victory for us. We showed character after our last game. We worked like a team and will continue to work. No real words can describe how I feel now. I am very proud to become the top scorer in a club, it is something unbelievable. The thing is that my name will always stay in this club, and I am really proud of that."