Buducnost Voli rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Valencia Basket 75-71 and keep its hopes of reaching the Eurocup Final alive. The Montenegrin champs went on a 13-0 run and took the lead on a three-pointer from teenager Nikola Ivanovic to the delight of the local fans. Buducnost will punch its tickets to the next stage for the first time in club history if it wins the return leg of the two-game, total-points series next week in Valencia – or if it loses by fewer than 4 points. The game featured lots of back and forth action. Twice Valencia built double-figure leads only to see the hosts storm back to take the lead. Bojan Dubljevic paced the winners with 15 points and 8 rebounds, Jermaine Anderson also scored 15 – including a three at the final buzzer to increase the final difference. Nando De Colo led two-time champion Valencia with 12 points, Florent Pietrus netted 11 and Serhiy Lishchuk and Victor Claver scored 10 each.

Dubljevic scored on the hosts’ opening possession before Lishchuk got Valencia on the board with free throws. Lishchuk remained active with a tip-in and then a slam for a 6-8 edge. Dubljevic knotted the score from the line. Claver became Valencia’s first scorer other than Lishchuk, though Buducnost remained neck-and-neck with the visitors after a Marko Popovic triple. De Colo got involved with a basket and then a triple for a 14-18 Valencia lead only to see Vladimir Mihailovic and Nikola Ivanovic each connect from downtown to put Buducnost back on top. An A.J. Ogilvy basket left Valencia in front 20-21 after 10 minutes. Ogilvy remained a menace in the paint in lifting Valencia 5 points ahead before Rafa Martinez struck from downtown to make it 20-28. Buducnost recovered through a Milan Milosevic triple and a bucket up close by Hasan Rizvic. Stefan Markovic scored and then assisted Pietrus for a three to build Valencia’s lead to 27-35. De Colo made it a 10-point game before Buducnost rallied. Anderson scored or assisted on 7 of the next 10 points as the hosts came back to even the game at 37-37. And after Lishchuk ended Valencia’s drought, Anderson nailed a triple for a 40-39 Buducnost lead at halftime.

Nik Caner-Medley, who was a nonfactor in the first 10 minutes, opened the second half with a three-pointer only to see Dubljevic tie the game. De Colo was next to hit from downtown and Claver scored too to make it 42-47. The momentum changed quickly after Cedomir Vitkovac scored and a Valencia turnover resulted in an Aleksa Popovic triple and a tie game. Ivanovic lifted Buducnost ahead 50-49 from the line, but a Markovic bucket put Valencia on top once more and 3 Pietrus free throws extended the difference to 4. Mihailovic hot back from the line, but the visitors continued their push. Pietrus scored again, Claver got to the line and Vitor Faverani completed a three-point play as the lead grew to 9. Ivanovic free throws made it 54-61 through three quarters. Anderson sank a three to make it a 6-point game early in the fourth quarter, but he missed his next two, while De Colo scored to calm the visitors. Caner-Medley’s second triple of the half put Valencia in front by 10 midway through the fourth quarter. Just when things looked bleak, a Dubljevic triple ignited the hosts. Bojan Krstovic scored followed by another from Dubljevic. Ivanovic then sniped a triple to put Buducnost up 70-69. Milosevic then capped a 13-0 charge as Valencia coach Velimir Perasovic called an urgent timeout with 1:22 remaining. Martinez scored 2 from the line with 14 seconds remaining, but a triple by Anderson on the game’s final play gave Buducnost a 75-71 victory.