2020-21Regular SeasonRound 17
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 71
Valencia Basket 70
December 29, 2020 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 BUESA ARENA

Baskonia rallies past Valencia

In one of the biggest comebacks in the competition so far this season, TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz took the battle between Spanish powerhouses in Round 17 by downing Valencia Basket 71-70 at Buesa Arena on Tuesday. Baskonia grabbed its second consecutive victory and improved to 8-8 in the standings, while Valencia dropped to 10-7. Achille Polonara led the winners with 18 points, Rokas Giedraitis added 14 and Alec Peters and Luca Vildoza each scored 11 for Baskonia. Nikola Kalinic scored 16 points and Fernando San Emeterio added 11 for Valencia, which led 17-30 after 10 minutes and extended it to 23-40 soon after that. Baskonia managed to take the lead, 61-58, early in the fourth quarter and it was a back-and-forth battle from that moment. Martin Hermannsson hit free throws to fix the final score with 29 seconds left. Valencia didn't foul, Pierria Henry took a shot at the end of Baskonia's final possession, and Kalinic missed a 14-meter attempt at the buzzer.

Derrick Williams got Valencia going with a layup and Bojan Dubljevic added a triple, but Giedraitis kept Baskonia close. Williams and Dubljevic fueled an 0-9 run that Klemen Prepelic capped with a three-pointer that boosted Valencia's lead to 5-15. Williams followed an alley-oop slam with a bomb from downtown and Kalinic scored off a steal for a 9-22 Valencia margin. Mike Tobey joined the three-point shootout and Prepelic hit his second one, but Polonara and Peters kept Baskonia within 17-28. Hermannsson beat the first-quarter buzzer with a fallaway jumper and added a triple for a 17-33 Valencia lead. Polonara scored twice down low and added an alley-oop dunk that prompted the guests to stop the game at 23-33. Louis Labeyrie and San Emeterio combined for all the points in a 0-7 run but Vildoza, Polonara and Giedraitis got the hosts within 31-42. Prepelic scored in transition, Vildoza and Van Rossom traded triples, and Tadas Sedekerskis brought Baskonia even closer, 39-47, at halftime.

Vildoza scored in penetration soon after the break, but Kalinic scored three times around the basket and added a triple for a 41-56 Valencia lead. Polonara and Tonye Jekiri stepped up with consecutive layups, igniting a 9-0 run that Peters capped with a bomb from downtown that made it 50-56. Hermannsson rescued Valencia with a layup, but Giedraitis matched it with a floater and Henry added an off-balance triple to make it 55-58 after 30 minutes. Peters and Giedraitis each struck from beyond the arc to complete Baskonia's comeback, 61-58, early in the fourth quarter. Peters insisted from downtown and Vildoza banked in a jumper, but San Emeterio and Prepelic drew Valencia within 66-64. Kalinic scored in the paint, Giedraitis and Van Rossom exchanged baskets and Polonara sank a three-pointer for a 71-68 Baskonia lead with 2 minutes left. Hermannsson hit free throws and Valencia got the ball back in the final seconds but Kalinic missed a midcourt shot at the buzzer.

Pivotal performer

Achille Polonara was everywhere and contributed at both ends of the floor, coming off the bench to make the difference. He finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-11 two-point shooting plus 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks - matching his personal-best - for a PIR of 26.

Game-changing moment

Valencia led 50-58 late in the third quarter, but Baskonia used an 11-0 run to steal the game's momentum. Rokas Giedraitis hit a floater, then Pierria Henry - completely off-balance, Alec Peters and Giedraitis each struck from downtown for a 61-58 lead, Baskonia's first since 2-1.

Stellar stat

Baskonia outrebounded Valencia 40-34, pulling down 14 offensive rebounds. Valencia only managed to get half as many offensive boards. Five Baskonia players - Achille Polonara, Tonye Jekiri, Pierria Henry, Tadas Sedekerskis and Rokas Giedraitis - pulled down at least 5 rebounds apiece.

Did you know?

Baskonia made 2 of 14 three-point shots before halftime (14.3%) and 6 of 18 (33.3%) after the break. At the same time, Valencia sank 7 of 14 three-pointers in the first half (50.0%), but just 1-of-17 (5.9%) after that.

Next game

Both teams return to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action next week - on Thursday, January 7, 2021. Valencia visits FC Barcelona as Pierre Oriola goes against his former team. Baskonia welcomes CSKA Moscow, featuring four former players - Mike James, Darrun Hilliard, Johannes Voigtmann and Toko Shengelia.

Achille Polonara - TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz - EB20
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; MOGULKOC, EMIN; CLIVAZ, SEBASTIEN
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz17221616
Valencia Basket30171112
End of Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz17395571
Valencia Basket30475870
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RAIESTE, SANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 27:40 11 4/7 1/5     2 2   1 3       5 9
5 JEKIRI, TONYE 28:25 2 1/4     4 4 8 2   3     3 2 5
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 26:40 9 1/4 1/4 4/4   6 6 6 3 1   1 1 2 17
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS 16:53 4 2/3 0/3   2 3 5 2 2 2     2   5
12 DIOP, ILIMANE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA 5:00 2 0/2   2/2       1           1 2
25 PETERS, ALEC 25:01 11 1/1 3/6     3 3     1     2 2 10
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 7:33     0/1                   1   -2
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 30:42 14 4/4 2/7 0/1 1 4 5 2   2     4 2 11
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 27:55 18 7/11 1/5 1/2 5 2 7 2 2   4   1 3 26
47 KURUCS, ARTURS 4:11     0/1   1   1           1   -1
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 71 20/36 8/32 7/9 14 26 40 15 8 12 4 1 15 17 85
        55.6% 25% 77.8%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
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
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 22:35 10 1/1 2/6 2/2       4 2 2     4 2 8
4 PRADILLA, JAIME DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 PUERTO, JOSEP 0:14                              
7 LABEYRIE, LOUIS 13:44 2 1/3 0/2   2 2 4     1 1 1 1    
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 26:10 5 1/2 1/5     2 2 4 1 1     2 1 5
10 TOBEY, MIKE 12:42 3 0/2 1/2   1 4 5 1       1 2 1 4
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 27:30 16 6/7 1/4 1/2   4 4 3 2 2   1 2 5 20
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 27:18 5 1/2 1/3   2 6 8 1   2     1   8
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 13:09 11 3/3 0/2 5/5   2 2           1 3 13
21 WILLIAMS, DERRICK 24:31 9 3/4 1/3 0/2   3 3 2   2   1 1 1 6
24 HERMANNSSON, MARTIN 16:23 9 2/6 1/2 2/2 1 1 2   1 1     2 2 6
30 SASTRE, JOAN 15:44     0/2         1   1     1   -3
Team           1 3 4               4
Totals 200:00 70 18/30 8/31 10/13 7 27 34 16 6 12 1 4 17 15 71
        60% 25.8% 76.9%
Head coach: PONSARNAU, JAUME

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"I believe that this win shows our character, our willingness to be in the playoffs, our big wish to win the EuroLeague. Thanks to the defense we played, especially in the last 20 minutes, we will get it. Valencia is one of the most talented teams, in terms of offense, in the EuroLeague. We didn't play our game in the first 10 minutes and we missed open shots. We were not ourselves. In the second quarter, thanks especially to Henry and Polonara, we changed the game and kept us in it. And then in the last 20 minutes, everybody played the way they should. We could have lost the game, but we played the right way. If anyone doesn't believe in what we do, it is difficult that he will play for my team. Even when in the first three offenses of the second half we missed an open three-point shot and had two turnovers, we were in the game. It was obvious that we just needed to fix the two defensive problems that we had and play more loose on offense. From the beginning, we were not obsessed with shooting three-pointers, but we were open and you have to take those shots. We didn't make them, but they were not contested shots, and in the moments we had to make shots, we made them."
PONSARNAU, JAUME
Valencia Basket
"Both teams were a little bit cold at the start of the game and all of a sudden, we found ourselves very comfortable, hitting shots and feeling good. I believe we started to lose the game in the second quarter. We started to not respect the game, our concepts, not respecting basketball, not playing with rigor and balance, and had turnovers. I give credit to Baskonia because every time we play against them, we have turnovers. We didn't have a lot today, but they were our own turnovers. They took advantage of that to reach halftime with a positive feeling. It looked like we were doing well after the break, but all of sudden, it was really wrong. We lost our rhythm, our strength, our energy and they were outplaying us. We tried to change players, but when they got in, they found a switching defense that stopped our offense. We tried and had options in the end, but truth to be told, we will regret this loss a lot. We are very angry because we didn't live up to the challenge we had in front of us. I regret not fouling on Baskonia's last possession. We had ordered to foul on some players and thought we would have time. We took some risks at the beginning of that play but we ran out of time. It was a perfect shot, the rebound was uncomfortable and it was a mistake. We thought we had time, and we didn't."

Players

POLONARA, ACHILLE
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"I felt good because we needed this win, especially on our home court. We want to finish a nice year for us. The most important [three-point shot] was the last one, so I am very happy for the win. It is a great way to finish the year. It was a tough month of December for us, because we played a lot of games, but we finished the year very well."
HENRY, PIERRIA
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"It was a hard-fought game for both teams. You have to give respect to Valencia, they play great team basketball and fight hard, but our team just wanted it more. We never lost hope. We kept believing in one another and we know that if we can get them to miss shots, we can get out in transition and find easy baskets. And eventually, our wide-open shots were going to drop and the momentum would swing. [On the final play,] I was just trying to get back, I knew I was going to try a Hail Mary, Coach said 'don't shoot until 1 second on the clock' and the rest is history. I just tried to listen to the coach!"
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