2007-08SemifinalsGame 1
DKV Joventut Badalona 90
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul 83
April 12, 2008 CET: 18:30
Local time: 18:30 PALAVELA
Rudy Fernandez - DKV Joventut - Final Eight Turin 2008 - EC07

DKV Joventut is in the ULEB Cup final!

Joventut made it to the ULEB Cup title game for the first time in club history by downing Galatasaray Cafe Crown 90-83 in the first semifinal at Palavela in Turin, Italy on Saturday night. DKV not only has the chance to lift a prestigious title, but will also qualify to the 2008-09 Euroleague with another win in the final tomorrow. Meanwhile, Galatasaray has the chance to return to the ULEB Cup next season if it wins the third place game also tomorrow. Rudy Fernandez led the winners with 27 points. Jan Jagla added 13, Demond Mallet had 11 while Jerome Moiso contributed 9 and 9 rebounds for Joventut, that broke a ULEB Cup record with 37 three-pointers attempted. Robert Hite led Galatasaray with 26 points on 7-for-8 two-pointers. Britton Johnsen added 13, Dee Brown had 10 while Chris Owens pulled down 12 boards. Galatarasay opened the game with a 0-6 run but Mallet and Fernandez stepped up to make Joventut get a double-digit lead, 27-17, after 10 minutes. A three-pointer by Pau Ribas gave Joventut a 15-point margin, 34-19. Galatasaray erased its deficit to 47-37 at halftime while Hite, Huseyin Besok and Owens brought their team back in the game, 52-50. Jagla and an unstoppable Fernandez boosted Joventut's lead to 74-62 already in the fourth quarter and even when a triple by Owens got Galatasaray within 76-71, the Ricky and Rudy connection was enough for Joventut to reach the ULEB Cup title game.

Joventut coach Aito Garcia Reneses opted for a small lineup with Lubos Barton at power forward, while Galatasaray did the opposite with Britton Johnsen at small forward. Chris Owens was first to score on a reverse layup before Hite dunked off a steal for a 0-4 Galatasaray lead. Johnsen scored in transition to cap a 0-6 opening run for Galatasaray. Fernandez got Joventut going with a driving basket and soon added a corner triple to make it 5-6. Edu Hernandez-Sonseca stepped up with a layup for Joventut's first lead, but Charles Gaines provided a highlight with a huge alley-oop dunk, good for a 7-9 Galatasaray lead. Demond Mallet struck from downtown and Fernandez sank another corner triple to give Joventut a 13-9 edge. Mallet sank another three-pointer in an 11-0 Joventut run that Barton capped with a put-back layup. Gaines tried to change the momentum with a power layup that Hite followed with a dunk to get Galatasaray within 18-13. Jerome Moiso shined with a put-back dunk that Ferran Laviña followed with a layup for Joventut. Hite kept pacing Galatasaray with a baseline jumper, but Pau Ribas answered from downtown for a 25-15 Joventut lead. Moiso scored in penetration but free throws by Cenk Akyol fixed the score at 27-17 after 10 minutes.

Jagla sank a five-meter jumper for Joventut right at the start of the second quarter that Hite matched with free throws. Jagla stepped up again with a reverse layup that made Galatasaray call timeout at 31-19. Ricky Rubio fed Ribas for his second three-pointer off another Joventut steal, providing the high lead of the first half, 34-19. Huseyin Besok stepped up with a put-back layup while Akyol nailed a running triple to get Galatasaray within 34-24. Hite provided a highlight with an high-flying layup, as Joventut struggled to score until Jagla buried another long jumper. Besok dunked, but Laviña's free throws answered and soon Hernandez-Sonseca shined with a jump hook to restore a 12-point Joventut lead, 40-28. Johnsen struck from downtown for Galatasaray while Brown added a fastbreak layup to get his team within 40-33. After a Galatasaray call timeout, Barton drove for a tough layup, one of Joventut's only inside baskets until then, but Owens matched it with a running jumper off a steal. A left-handed layup by Hernandez-Sonseca was matched by Besok scoring inside again before Fernandez beat the buzzer with a triple for a double-digit Joventut margin, 47-37, at halftime.

Hite downed a three-pointer immediately after the break while Johnsen also struck from downtown to bring Galatasaray back in the game, 47-43. Cuneyt Erden fed Johnsen for a two-handed dunk but a long jumper by Mallet kept Joventut ahead, 50-45. Hite buried another triple while Moiso took over with a shocking put-back dunk for a 52-48 Joventut lead. Besok sank foul shots while Barton finished an incredible six-chance Joventut offense with a tip-in. Mallet fired in one from downtown to make it a seven-point game, 57-50, at the halfway mark of the third quarter. Galatasaray did not improve its shot selection, however, while Fernandez took over with a layup-plus-foul to make Joventut restore a double-digit lead, 50-40. Joventut was all over the place in defense now while Moiso scored inside to cap a 10-0 run. Hite tried to change things with an alleyoop layup but Laviña matched it with a put-back layup. Brown followed free throws with a driving layup while foul shots by Akyol gave Galatasaray some hope, 66-58. Gaines took over with a tip-in over two defenders but a tip-in by Jagla allowed Joventut to get a 68-60 lead after three quarters.

Jagla kept shining with a three-pointer from the top of the key, as Galatasaray struggled to find open shots early in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Fernandez also struck from downtown to make it a 14-point game, 74-62, with 8 minutes to go. Brown scored in penetration while Owens added free throws, as Galatasaray tried to get back to the game. Fernandez made free throws than Johnsen erased with a fast break layup, while Erden shined with an acrobatic layup to give his team some hope, 76-68. Owens sank a key triple to get Galatasaray even closer, 76-71, with less than 6 minutes remaining. Rubio fed Fernandez for his trademark alleyoop dunk and soon scored around the basket to give Joventut some fresh air, 80-71. Galatasaray called timeout but missed consecutive offenses right when it mattered. Fernandez - who else? - fired in his fifth bomb from downtown to seal the outcome, 83-71. Jagla made free throws on Johnsen's fifth foul and even when Hite kept trying with a three-point play and a bomb from downtown, it was already too late for Galatasaray. All Joventut fans were already celebrating a big win that kept Joventut in search for the ULEB Cup title tomorrow!

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Javier Gancedo, Turin, Italy
No results found.
Referees: FACCHINI, FABIO; PUKL,SASA; ROCHA, FERNANDO
Attendance: 5060
By Quarter1234
DKV Joventut Badalona27202122
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul17202323
End of Quarter1234
DKV Joventut Badalona27476890
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul17376083
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 24:01 11 1/6 3/9   2   2 3           2 7
4 RIBAS, PAU 9:24 6   2/2     1 1 1   1       1 8
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 32:38 27 4/8 5/11 4/4   2 2 1 3 5       7 25
9 RUBIO, RICKY 21:03 6 1/3 0/1 4/4 2 1 3 5 2 4     4 5 10
11 BARTON, LUBOS 23:21 6 3/4 0/6   5 2 7 1 1       2 1 7
12 FRANCH, JOSEP DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 JAGLA, JAN 26:19 13 4/4 1/7 2/2   4 4 1 2 5     3 1 7
15 POPOVIC, PETAR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 HERNANDEZ-SONSECA, EDU 18:10 6 3/3   0/2 1 3 4   2       2 3 11
18 LAVINA, FERRAN 23:14 6 2/2 0/1 2/5 1   1 2 2 1     4 2 4
19 TOMAS, PERE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 MOISO, JEROME 21:50 9 4/6   1/2 5 4 9   1     1 1 2 16
Team                     1         -1
Totals 200:00 90 22/36 11/37 13/19 16 17 33 14 13 17 0 1 16 24 94
        61.1% 29.7% 68.4%
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
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 TURETKEN, ERDEM DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 HITE, ROBERT 33:07 28 8/9 3/5 3/3   1 1 2 1 5     2 2 24
8 GAINES, CHARLES 20:15 6 3/5   0/3 3 1 4   1 2     2 2 4
9 OWENS, CHRIS 36:09 9 2/7 1/2 2/2 2 10 12 4 2 3     4 3 17
10 KAYA, MURAT 6:26   0/1 0/1           1       3   -4
11 SOLAK, FATIH 0:59           1 1     1          
12 BESOK, HUSEYIN 19:45 8 3/4 0/1 2/2 3 2 5 1 1 2     1 1 11
15 NALGA, CEMAL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
17 BROWN, DEE 27:20 10 4/5 0/3 2/2   2 2 4   4     4 2 6
18 AKYOL, CENK 11:18 7 0/1 1/1 4/4   1 1 1         1 2 9
20 ERDEN, CUNEYT 20:30 4 2/2 0/4     2 2 3 3 1     2   5
35 JOHNSEN, BRITTON 24:11 11 2/4 2/3 1/2   3 3 1 2 4 1   5 4 9
Team                   1           1
Totals 200:00 83 24/38 7/20 14/18 8 23 31 16 12 22 1 0 24 16 82
        63.2% 35% 77.8%
Head coach: OZYER, MURAT

Head Coaches

GARCIA RENESES, AITO
DKV Joventut Badalona
"I think that the game was very good on our part. We played with intensity and intelligence, and we faced a strong team in Galatasaray. In their quarterfinal, Galatasaray looked a little softer perhaps, even though they won. Today, they played a very good game. They were capable of very strong defense, the rebounded, and with that they were able to fastbreak and make some good baskets. They were really good on rebounds. For us, it created a tactical problem with Johnsen playing small forward. And also when they played with Besok, a real center, or other times used Owens or Gaines at center, it cost us a bit to adjust. But with effort, we were able to overcome those tactical efforts and play a good game in general. For the Final, first we need to rest, because today's effort has been a big one. Second, we have to prepare ourselves for what is a little bit of a new situation. Going into the Spanish King's Cup, no one expected us to win. But here they do. Thanks to the good development in our play, the fact that we are in the Final of the ULEB Cup, we are more or less second in the Spanish League and have won the King's Cup and the Catalan League, people think that we can win this, too. That makes this situation a little knew. We'll see how we react. I think today we noticed a little bit of this, as we were missing shots we normally make. We can't think about it so much. I only mention it because someone asks. We have to concentrate on what we need to do to win: defense, offense, whatever we see as necessary. If we win, fabulous: if not, it's also good to play the final."
OZYER, MURAT
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
"It was our club's first ULEB Cup season, and I want to thank my players, because they never quit. They showed that on floor until the end of this game. This is a very good sign and I'm very pleased and thankful that I have those types of players on my roster. Congratulations to Joventut. They have a good team, good players and great coach. I wish good luck to them on the road to the final. They did a very good job today. In summary about the game, we tried to use the fastbreak selectively. We didn't want to run with them every time and get a lot of turnovers. We had to cut the big difference that they got in the first half, and we cannot say we played well in that half. Then we tried to catch them, using our rebounding mostly. But if you give a chance to lead to a team like Joventut during a game, it's not easy to catch them after. I think those were the important points of the game. Now, it will be very hard for us to play the third-place game tomorrow. We will try to break down why we lost the semifinal and even though it's hard to play the third and fourth spot, we will try to get the win and the ticket for the ULEB Cup next season. Both Girona and Moscow are good teams, but we want to play here next year, so we'll focus and try to do our best to finish the tournament well."

Players

FERNANDEZ, RUDY
DKV Joventut Badalona
"I think it was a strong game, very physical. The first half we played good defense, the fastbreak was there for us. But in the second half, when Galatasaray ran a lot of fastbreaks, it was difficult for us. The big problem for Galatasaray was our press. When we put the pressure on, steal the ball and run, it put them in a bad situation. Now, we have to rest. In 20 hours, we play the final. We were able to do it for the King's Cup in Spain. We know that we have to rest so that we can go 100 percent in the final tomorrow in what should be a physical game."
BARTON, LUBOS
DKV Joventut Badalona
"It's great to be in the final. We suffered a little today, I think we caught them in a good moment. They played fine, with confidence as underdogs so they didn't have much to lose. They played us tough for sure. Our game is like that. We rely on our outside shot. We didn't shoot very well today, me especially. We also have someplays for penetrations and trying to get easy shots underneath but it is true that today Galatasaray played well and took away many of our strengths."
HERNANDEZ-SONSECA, EDU
DKV Joventut Badalona
"The game was a bit weird. We had good dynamics but after that we kinda got distracted. Either we lowered our level or they raised theirs, but we got kind of scared and after that they have been living on our errors basically. It's easier to shoot a lot to try to score when you are behind on the scoreboard, but those are mistakes we have to learn from if we want to win tomorrow."
JAGLA, JAN
DKV Joventut Badalona
"I think we have been committing the same mistake (relaxing with a big lead) during the last couple of games and also in Spain. I don't know, maybe it's a bit stupid on our part. We have to fix that even though I doubt that in the final either team will be able to pull away far, it's probably going to be close until the end but we have to improve on that. I don't know who we will play in the final but for now I am happy that we made it and we just have to have clear that it won't be an easy game."
MALLET, DEMOND
DKV Joventut Badalona
"Well, all those rivals come out aggressive when we get a good lead. It's something we have to learn, that when we have good lead we have to continue to play basketball the way we know how to play. Galatasaray guys never let themselves down, they kept fighting but hey, we prevailed. We insisted a little from the three-point line because it has been working for us all year! I just think we are trying to make theball get in the basket, we have some great long-distance shooters on this team but we had to realize that our inside game was working better than our outside game. But anyway, it happens. It's a learning experience and it's got to get better."
ERDEN, CUNEYT
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
"We did not feel comfortable against their defense and committed many turnovers. We made too many mistakes and lost the game allowing 90 points, which is a lot for us. We played very good defense in the quarterfinal against Besiktas Cola Turks, but we couldn't do that tonight. We are now looking forward for the third place game and forget about this loss as soon as possible. Being in the ULEB Cup next season is very important for us next year. We have to ttry to win the game and that way, make sure we are back in the competition."
BROWN, DEE
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
Joventut played better than us tonight and managed to win the game with better basketball. They made their shots, played very well as a team and managed to stay focused when we got back in the game. The winner of the third place game gets to the ULEB Cup next season and that's important. Even with that, we want to win every game, because all games are important for us."
JOHNSEN, BRITTON
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
"DKV Joventut is a very strong team and I think they will win it all. They knocked down their shots and played really well as a team. it is a very smart team. Congratulations to them. I hope that we can do better in the third place game tomorrow. We are not done, we have to regroup and try to win the game. If we win, we will be back in the ULEB Cup next season and gives us something to think about after this loss."
OWENS, CHRIS
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
"We just came out and tried to play hard, with good defense. We got a couple of tough calls but in the end, DKV Joventut is a very strong team but even with that, it was a tough loss. I had a good game in defense but I think I could have done a lot better. I wanted to win and play the ULEB Cup final but we couldn't do it in the end. That is all about it. We have to come out and play hard tomorrow. It is a big game for us, we want to come out and play as hard as we can. We have to regroup and focus on winning tomorrow."
GAINES, CHARLES
Galatasaray Cafe Crown Istanbul
"We played against a very good team tonight, one of the best in the Spanish League. We thought that we could win tonight but they outplayed us. DKV Joventut is a good team with a good coach and made their plays every time they needed it. I want to wish them the best of luck in the final. I hope they win the ULEB Cup. I played for Joventut and of course, I want them to win the competition. I think they will, but we will see tomorrow. We will try to win tomorrow so that we can go to the ULEB Cup this season but the main goal was to win the championship. We have to get ready for the third place game, we have to regroup and try to stay focused tomorrow. The goal was to win the ULEB Cup and we didn't do it. We have to win tomorrow to get back home with something in our hands."
No results found.