2020-21Regular SeasonRound 10
November 20, 2020 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 LA FONTETA

Valencia rallies past Maccabi in a thriller

In one of the wildest comebacks in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season, Valencia Basket registered a valuable home win by edging Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 82-80 at La Fonteta on Friday. Valencia improved to 6-3 in the standings while Maccabi dropped to 3-7. Maccabi, powered by an unstoppable Scottie Wilbekin, led 70-77 with 2:21 left but Valencia rallied and Derrick Williams tied the game, 80-80, with 7.4 seconds left. After a timeout, Maccabi tried to put the ball in Wilbekin's hands to try to win, but Bojan Dubljevic got a steal and fed Sam Van Rossom for the game-winning layup in astonishing fashion. Klemen Prepelic led the winners with 22 points. Derrick Williams added 15 while Mike Tobey had 12 for Valencia. Maccabi got 25 points from Wilbekin and 15 from Angelo Caloiaro while suffering its fourth defeat in five games.

Dubljevic got Valencia going with a jump-hook and Prepelic added a three-pointer for a 5-0 lead. Wilbekin answered from downtown but back-to-back baskets by Jaime Pradilla boosted the hosts' lead to 9-3. Ante Zizic dunked and Elijah Bryant added a driving layup but an unstoppable Prepelic kept Valencia in charge, 14-7. Caloiaro and Dragan Bender stepped up for Maccabi and a layup by Othello Hunter brought the guests within 16-14. Tobey and Wilbekin exchanged three-pointers to fix the score at 19-17 after 10 minutes. Williams and Tobey boosted the hosts' margin to 23-17 early in the second quarter. Hunter and Oz Blayzer fueled a 0-6 Maccabi run, then Caloiaro bettered Fernando San Emeterio's layup with a triple that gave Maccabi its first lead, 25-26. Tobey insisted from downtown and Prepelic added a floater to give the hosts fresh air at 30-28. Zizic answered with a put-back layup but Prepelic and Williams restored a 35-30 Valencia lead. Wilbekin followed a corner triple with a fastbreak layup, then Nikola Kalinic and Zizic traded layups for a 37-37 tie. Dubljevic and Louis Labeyrie helped the hosts regain a 43-37 lead at halftime. Bender sank a three-pointer right after the break. Prepelic and Bryant exchanged layups and Labeyrie hit a jump hook for a 47-42 score. Wilbekin and Caloiaro each struck from downtown in an 0-8 run that put Maccabi ahead, 47-50. Prepelic answered from beyond the arc but a circus shot by Wilbekin and a layup by Bender restored a 50-54 Maccabi lead. Prepelic, Chris Jones and Williams each hit a triple, and Van Rossom kept Valencia within 58-59 after 30 minutes. Tobey downed an alley-oop slam early in the fourth quarter, igniting a 6-0 run that Martin Hermannsson capped with a three-pointer. Tobey dunked again but Blayzer and Caloiaro brought Maccabi as close as 66-63. Wilbekin sank his fifth triple and Bryant buried his first one for a 66-69 score with 4 minutes left. Williams rescued Valencia with a put-back basket but Wilbekin struck twice from downtown and fed Zizic for an alley-oop, giving Maccabi a 70-77 lead with over 2 minutes left. Guillem Vives hit a triple, San Emeterio and Prepelic hit free throws, and Williams struck from beyond the arc to tie it at 80-80 with 7.4 seconds to go. Dubljevic collected a steal and fed Van Rossom for the game-winning layup with 2.9 seconds remaining. Wilbekin missed from way downtown at the buzzer, as Valencia celebrated a big win in come-from-behind fashion!

Pivotal performer

Prepelic led Valencia throughout the entire game and had another career night. He finished the game with a personal-best 22 points, hitting 4-of-5 two-point shots, 4-of-6 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws, adding 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 fouls drawn for a PIR of 24.

Game-changing moment

San Emeterio drew a foul with 1:13 left and Valencia down by six points, 73-79. He hit both free throws, Bryant missed at the other end, Prepelic was also perfect from the foul line, Bender split attempts, Williams tied the game with a three-pointer and Dubljevic collected a key steal which allowed Van Rossom to win the game. What a comeback!

Stellar stat

Valencia finished the game with 23 assists and Maccabi only had 15. Valencia also shot the ball with slightly better percentages (55.9% 2FG, 47.6% 3FG, 73.7% FT to Maccabi's 51.5% 2FG, 40.6% 3FG, 50% FT), but this time, the game went down to intangibles like resilience, determination and character.

Did you know?

Dubljevic set a new personal-best in assists twice this season. He had 6 assists against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens earlier on this season. Tonight, Dubljevic did even better with 7 assists, none more important than the final one to Van Rossom to win the game!

Next game

In Round 11 next week, Valencia visits Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Friday, November 27 in what will be a special game for former Fenerbahce players Williams and especially Kalinic, who helped lead that team to its only EuroLeague title in 2017. On Thursday, Maccabi welcomes AX Armani Exchange Milan, featuring its own former guard, Michael Roll, in a rematch of the 1987 and 1988 EuroLeague championship games.

Klemen Prepelic - Valencia Basket - EB20
Friday, November 20, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; PATERNICO, CARMELO; TRAWICKI, TOMASZ
Attendance: 0 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Valencia Basket19241524
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv17202221
End of Quarter1234
Valencia Basket19435882
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv17375980
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 28:27 22 4/5 4/6 2/2 1 1 2 3   4     1 5 24
4 PRADILLA, JAIME 6:42 4 2/2 0/1           1       1   3
6 PUERTO, JOSEP 0:12                              
7 LABEYRIE, LOUIS 10:51 4 1/1   2/4   1 1             2 5
9 VAN ROSSOM, SAM 21:43 4 1/2   2/2   3 3 3 2 4       2 9
10 TOBEY, MIKE 15:57 12 3/3 2/3   1 3 4     1 1   3 1 13
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 30:10 3 1/3 0/3 1/2 1 2 3 4 1 3     1 2 3
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 23:56 6 3/9 0/2   1 4 5 7 2     1 1 4 14
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 14:08 5 1/1 1/1     1 1 1   1     5   1
19 SAN EMETERIO, FERNANDO 9:57 4 1/3 0/2 2/2 1   1 1         1 2 3
21 WILLIAMS, DERRICK 22:24 15 2/3 2/2 5/6 1 5 6 2 1 3     2 4 21
24 HERMANNSSON, MARTIN 15:33 3 0/2 1/1         2   1     2 1 1
Team             3 3               3
Totals 200:00 82 19/34 10/21 14/18 6 23 29 23 7 17 1 1 17 23 100
        55.9% 47.6% 77.8%
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
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 BRYANT, ELIJAH 21:25 9 3/4 1/2     3 3 2 2 2     4   8
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 30:01 25 2/3 7/14 0/1   2 2 5 3 4     2 4 24
3 JONES, CHRIS 10:15 3 0/2 1/3         1 1 2     2   -3
4 CALOIARO, ANGELO 33:37 15 3/4 3/5   4 3 7 3 1 2     4   17
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 14:22 8 3/9   2/2 2 1 3 1   1   1 1 2 5
6 COHEN, SANDY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 DORSEY, TYLER 18:38 1 0/2 0/3 1/2   2 2 2   1     2 3 -1
14 BLAYZER, OZ 12:25 3 1/2   1/2 1   1 1 2 2     5 1 -1
17 BENDER, DRAGAN 33:46 8 1/2 1/5 3/6   7 7   1       2 4 10
18 SAHAR, DORI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
23 ZIZIC, ANTE 25:31 8 4/5   0/2 1 3 4   1 2 1   1 2 10
24 ALBER, EIDAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 200:00 80 17/33 13/32 7/15 10 22 32 15 11 16 1 1 23 16 72
        51.5% 40.6% 46.7%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Head Coaches

PONSARNAU, JAUME
Valencia Basket

"We had problems to score in some moments of the fourth quarter and Maccabi played unbelievable in that moment. Wilbekin showed he has unbelievable talent and changed the game, but we believed. The key for us is that we showed our mentality all game long. This is good for the club, which is taking steps forwards and growing. But for sure, this record [6-3] will be broken a lot of times in the future of this club. But now, we are living this moment, and thinking on the next game."

"We played a first half, I think, with very good intentions, having the feeling that we had initiative, offensively and defensively. But Maccabi is a team that sticks to the games really well, and with its rebounds, second-chance points and steals, stayed in the game. In the second half, they started at a very high level on defense, very high. The game was very tough and they were playing really good defense. They found the way to defend 'Dubi' [Bojan Dubljevic]'s passes to the open men and that made us feel really uncomfortable. We were looking for our game and couldn't find it. There was a very critical moment in the fourth quarter in which we were blocked on offense, but looked like we were well on defense, and then Wilbekin showed up with all the special plays they have for him, as he is a talented player that was inspired. He changed the game dramatically. The team had faith and conviction, and had fresh air, physically speaking, due to a timeout we called, and came off it without Klemen [Prepelic] and Dubi on the floor. It was a risk, but that allowed them to have energy in the end, as they had played many minutes in this game, and they were key. Klemen drew attention on offense and Dubi played excellent defense, along with Sam, on the final play. It was absolutely critical. It was heads or tails. It looks like it was going to be tails, but it turned out to be heads."

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"I think it was a very close game and the result was open until the end. We played much better in the second half. Defensively, in the third and fourth periods, we were really good. We fought one by one and as a team. We allowed 15 points in the third period and until the moment that we were up by 7 points at the end of the game, I think we did a great job. Unfortunately, some mistakes that we did gave them the chance to go to the line very easily, bringing the game to the situation in which it was [down to] one basket. In the end, we wanted to foul but didn't have the time and didn't find somebody to foul, so they scored the three. They tied the game and then, on the last play, we lost the ball. I think it was crucial that when we got the lead, we should have played one or two good defenses and finish the game. Unfortunately, it didn't happen and Valencia took advantage of all the effort in the last minute to win the game. We continue. I know it is a tough loss. From one side, we showed a different face, as we wanted, on the court. On the other side, we were sad we lost the game this way. It is sad but we need to overcome it, continue and learn from this, to break this bad momentum that we have, losing four or five games at the end."

Players

PREPELIC, KLEMEN
Valencia Basket
"We expected this kind of game. Maccabi is a great team, a historical team, with one of the best rosters in the EuroLeague. Obviously, they have amazing one-on-one quality, which they proved one more time with Wilbekin at the end of the game. But one more time, we showed that if we stick to the game plan, we are a very good team. Two good teams, two teams that do good things, the luck comes at the end. Great defensive play by 'Dubi' [Bojan Dubljevic] and Sam [Van Rossom] at the end, and we were rewarded with an easy layup. I think this win is very important for us."
VAN ROSSOM, SAM
Valencia Basket
"A Christmas gift? I don't know! I think it is too early for Christmas! I think we expected that they wanted to play for Wilbekin, so Coach told me to go aggressive on him, try to not let him receive the ball. And in the end, we got a steal and an open layup. For us, it was a great finish to the game. I think that, in the EuroLeague, we are doing a very good job. Above all, our home games are very important and I think the whole team knows that. We really don't want to lose a lot of games here at La Fonteta. For us, it will be key to have a good season in the EuroLeague, and so far it is going well."
CALOIARO, ANGELO
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
"We battled harder today. There were moments our defense was really good, and that's the biggest part we need to improve on and be more solid for 40 minutes. It's been several games this season we should have closed out at the end, but all of them haven't gone our way. We need to figure that out, get back to work, and stay positive."
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