2017-18Regular SeasonRound 8
FC Barcelona Lassa 89
Valencia Basket 71
November 17, 2017 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Oriola helps Barcelona bounce back

FC Barcelona Lassa grabbed its third win in the 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by downing Valencia Basket 89-71 at Palau Blaugrana on Friday. Both teams now have a 3-5 records, even though Valencia lost its fourth game in a row. Pierre Oriola paced the winners with 14 points. Adrien Moerman added 13, Kevin Seraphin had 12 while Pau Ribas got 11 for Barcelona. Tibor Pleiss led Valencia with 13 points. Will Thomas and Erick Green each had 10 for the guests. Moerman buried 3 shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter, getting help from Thomas Heurtel and Oriola to give Barcelona a 24-18 advantage after 10 minutes. Petteri Koponen struck twice from downtown to make Valencia call timeout at 33-24. Pau Ribas and Ante Tomic took over right after that and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Phil Pressey made it an 18-point game, 50-32, at halftime. An 0-8 run that Damjan Rudez capped with a four-point play gave Valencia hope, 67-54, late in the third quarter. Oriola stepped up again for Barcelona, giving his team a 77-60 lead with under 6 minutes left, enough to control the game until the final buzzer.

A jump hook by Seraphin and a corner triple by Moerman got Barcelona going. Joan Sastre stepped up with a driving layup and Sam Van Rossom bettered Rakim Sanders's slam with a three-pointer that kept Valencia within 7-6. Moerman struck twice from downtown, getting help from Tomic and Heurtel to make Valencia call timeout at 17-11. Joan Sastre scored again and Thomas added a three-pointer but Heurtel and Oriola kept Barcelona in charge, 24-18, after 10 minutes. Back-to-back jumpers by Aaron Doornekamp and Green brought Valencia within 24-22 early in the second quarter. Koponen stepped up with a couple of three-pointers and Oriola also hit one from beyond the arc to boost the hosts' margin to 33-24. Guillem Vives and Thomas tried to change things for Valencia but Barcelona found new a go-to guy in Ribas, who followed a layup with free throws and added a triple for a 45-32 Barcelona margin. A jump hook by Moerman and a buzzer-beating triple by Phil Pressey fixed the halftime score at 50-32.

Vives followed a floater with a three-pointer soon after the break and Sastre added his own shot from beyond the arc to give Valencia hope at 56-42. Adam Hanga joined the three-point shootout and dunks by Seraphin and Sanders made Valencia call timeout at 63-44. Pleiss shined with a tip-in that Sanders bettered with consecutive layups. Valencia went on an 0-8 run that Rudez capped with a four-point play. Still, a layup by Tomic and a buzzer-beating fall-away jumper by Pressey kept Barcelona fully in charge, 71-56, after 30 minutes. Bojan Dubljevic followed a dunk with a jumper early in the fourth quarter but Oriola quickly answered for a 75-60 Barcelona lead. Oriola scored again and a coast-to-coast layup by Ribas sealed the outcome. Valencia kept fighting but Barcelona cruised to an important home win.

Both teams return to EuroLeague action next Thursday - Barcelona hosts Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv while Valencia visits Brose Bamberg.

Pierre Oriola - FC Barcelona Lassa - EB17
Friday, November 17, 2017
Euroleague.net
Referees: BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; KOROMILAS, ELIAS; JURAS, MARKO
Attendance: 5089
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa24262118
Valencia Basket18142415
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa24507189
Valencia Basket18325671
FC Barcelona Lassa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 SERAPHIN, KEVIN 18:12 12 4/6   4/4 1 3 4 1   2 2 1 3 2 13
5 RIBAS, PAU 25:33 11 3/3 1/4 2/2 1 4 5 2 1 1     2 3 16
8 PRESSEY, PHIL 24:18 7 2/3 1/3     4 4 2 2 2       1 11
9 HANGA, ADAM 15:04 3 0/1 1/1     2 2 5 1 1 1   3 2 9
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 HEURTEL, THOMAS 15:42 8 4/7 0/1     2 2 5         1 3 13
18 ORIOLA, PIERRE 20:20 14 4/4 2/2   1 3 4           3   15
21 SANDERS, RAKIM 18:07 8 4/6 0/2   1 2 3 1         3   5
25 KOPONEN, PETTERI 21:16 6 0/1 2/7     2 2 1 1       1 1 4
30 CLAVER, VICTOR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
44 TOMIC, ANTE 20:45 7 3/9   1/1 1 3 4 4   1     2 2 8
45 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 20:43 13 2/3 3/4   1 3 4 2   1 1       17
Team             1 1               1
Totals 200:00 89 26/43 10/24 7/7 6 29 35 23 5 8 4 1 18 14 112
        60.5% 41.7% 100%
Head coach: ALONSO, SITO
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
0 THOMAS, WILL 19:20 10 2/3 1/1 3/4 2   2     1       2 11
6 ABALDE, ALBERTO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 16:37 7 2/4 1/2         1   1     3   1
10 RUDEZ, DAMJAN 11:53 7   2/2 1/1 1 2 3 1           2 13
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 17:30 6 3/4 0/1     6 6 1 1 1     2 2 11
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 23:23 8 2/3 1/3 1/1   4 4 7 1 2     2 2 15
17 MARTINEZ, RAFA 3:12                              
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 23:56   0/4 0/2     3 3 3   1   2 2 2 -3
21 PLEISS, TIBOR 21:27 13 5/13 0/1 3/3 2 5 7     1 1 1 4 4 10
30 SASTRE, JOAN 25:35 7 2/4 1/3   1   1 4 1     1 1   7
32 GREEN, ERICK 18:53 10 1/3 2/6 2/2   2 2   1 2       1 6
42 DOORNEKAMP, AARON 18:14 3 1/1 0/1 1/2   1 1 2           3 7
Team           1 1 2     2          
Totals 200:00 71 18/39 8/22 11/13 7 24 31 19 4 11 1 4 14 18 78
        46.2% 36.4% 84.6%
Head coach: VIDORRETA, TXUS

Head Coaches

ALONSO, SITO
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We played well for 40 minutes, on defense and offense. We are happy and ready for the next game. The loss on Wednesday was tough because we played really well for 15 minutes and stopped doing all the things we should do after that. If our game had been more balanced throughout, a loss would not have affected us that much. These things happen, especially since the game is played in four quarters. We have to learn how to avoid it. For instance, Fenerbahce had a 20-point lead against CSKA tonight and lost it. These things happen and you have to learn from them. It is true that the team showed character, but if someone didn't show it, he wouldn't be able to play in this team or in this competition. It is something that each player and the team must have all season. Phil Pressey's improvement throughout the season is unquestionable. His problem is that he has down times because he not only depends on his offensive skills, but also on knowing the game, passing the ball well, having to find the open player and knowing that he was signed to play defense. These things take time sometimes but he is an excellent player. The team respects him and is aware of what he can give us when he is on the court."
VIDORRETA, TXUS
Valencia Basket
"First of all, congratulations to FC Barcelona for this win. We had a really bad second quarter, in which we were absolutely disconnected. That was the key for the difference in this game. We were at a good level in the first quarter - not at our best level, but at a good level in general. We defended really badly on the three-point line in a few moments of the first quarter and especially in the second quarter. On offense, we had many difficulties to have the best spacing in our offense, especially in the last 5 minutes of the first half. It was probably our worst second quarter this season but the team tried to react in the third and fourth quarters. We competed for 30 minutes but it is not enough against Barcelona. We are ready for the next game, to improve and try to take the win. We have to be patient. We came to Palau Blaugrana, where some teams won this season, but others like Panathinaikos and Olympiacos came out of here with tough losses. Barcelona is a great team and we are newcomers to the new EuroLeague, coming off a 50-minute effort, very intense, on Wednesday, against a team with 16 first-level players like Milan. We have to keep calm even when we had a very bad second quarter. The team did not disconnect after that, we tried to win the second half and tied it in the end."

Players

HEURTEL, THOMAS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"We needed a win like this. I believe that with so many ups and downs, a win like this is very good for us. We had a strong start and did not lose our rhythm like we did in Bamberg a few days ago. It was important win not only from a psychological point of view, but also because of the standings. We needed this win, did things right and have to think about the next game."
HANGA, ADAM
FC Barcelona Lassa
"I am really happy about this win, to be honest, because it was a team win. We shared the ball really well today and played team defense. We were really prepared for this game, especially after the loss in Bamberg. We were upset after leading by 26 points and losing that game. We didn't have an explanation for that. I think that we played a good game today and our problem so far was that we could not keep our intensity. I hope to keep playing with the same intensity, the same defense and the same toughness, and we will be good."
SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO
Valencia Basket
"They were the better team tonight. They started the game with great intensity and we trailed by a small difference in the first quarter. They kept playing at that rhythm in the second quarter and shot with better percentages, including a buzzer-beater that gave them confidence. We tried to return to the game in the third quarter and managed to get within 14 points, but it was a tough deficit to overcome and they were the fair winners."
RUDEZ, DAMJAN
Valencia Basket
"I think it is a shame that Barcelona came out much more aggressive than us in the first half. They capitalized on that and made a big advantage, double digits. Then it was hard for us to come fighting back. They are a quality team and we did our best. We have to recover very fast, get our heads really for the next game and bounce back."
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