A new #CalderaTaronja to receive Hapoel Jerusalem

Valencia Basket will again count with the support of their #CalderaTaronja to open their 7DAYS EuroCup semi-final playoff, in which will face again Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (Tuesday 14, 20:30, Fonteta, Teledeporte / Eurosport2 / Euroleague TV). The Israeli squad was the last to win at Fonteta in any competition, almost 5 months ago (he did on 19 October for a score of 77-81), a lapse of time in which the taronja team has managed to chain 18 wins in a row in front of their fans. The Taronja squad faces their tenth semifinal in European competitions, looking for their seventh final of a continental tournament.

 

Once again as the main handicap, Valencia Basket will only have nine professional players available to face this game due to the absences for injury, all in the left foot, of Antoine Diot and Slava Kravtsov and with the point guard Guillem Vives almost ruled out by his coach. Pedro Martínez said about Vives that "what I have been told today is that he is much worse than yesterday and therefore I have no idea if he is going to play. I don’t think so, but I don’t know. I have no control over that"

 

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem arrives at Fonteta with the best open streak of the tournament (five wins in a row) and after eliminating Herbalife Gran Canaria in the quarterfinals without needing to play the third game. Led by the duo formed by Curtis Jerrells and Amar'e Stoudemire (the two players with the highest ranking among those remaining in competition), the red team has along with Valencia Basket the best dynamics of the competition in the last nine games (8- 1). The Israeli squad comes from falling in their national league game by 83-70 against Hapoel SP Tel Aviv, giving rest to some important players like Halperin or Shawn Jones. The most significant news of that match was the return of the Israeli international point guard Bar Timor, that returned to the floor after three weeks of absence by injury.

 

Pedro Martínez: “We will give our maximum to try to win"

Valencia Basket coach Pedro Martínez said in the preview press conference that "I dont want to send any negative messages, I do not want to publicly or privately make any excuses. It is the situation we are in. The only thing I hope is that we give our maximum to the players we have, try to give our best version and try to win. They play a pretty good basketball and their style is the same. I see more differences in us, by the casualties, than in them. The casualties will lead us to practice a different game and put players in different positions".

 

Rosters

VALENCIA BASKET

Nº

Name

Born

Position

Height

0

Will Thomas

USA/Georgia

PF

2.03

9

Sam Van Rossom

Belgium

PG

1.88

10

Romain Sato

CAF

SF

1.94

14

Bojan Dubljevic

Montenegro

C

2.05

17

Rafa Martínez

Spain

SG

1.90

18

Pierre Oriola

Spain

PF

2.06

19

Fernando San Emeterio

Spain

SF

1.99

30

Joan Sastre

Spain

SG

2.00

43

Luke Sikma

USA

PF

2.03

53

Josep Puerto

Spain

SF

1.99

 

Injured

 

 

 

8

Antoine Diot

France

PG/SG

1.93

16

Guillem Vives

Spain

PG

1.92

55

Viacheslav Kravtsov

Ukraine

C

2.13

 

Pedro Martínez

 

Coach

 

 

HAPOEL BANK YAHAV JERUSALEM

Nº

Name

Born

Position

Height

0

Malik Hairston

USA

SF

1.98

1

Amar’e Stoudemire

USA

C

2.08

2

Jerome Dyson

USA

SG

1.91

7

Or Ron

Israel

PG

1.85

8

Lior Eliyahu

Israel

PF

2.05

10

Yotam Halperin

Israel

SG

1.93

11

Bar Timor

Israel

PG

1.90

21

Tarence Kinsey

USA

SF

1.98

22

Shawn Jones

USA

PF

2.03

42

Travis Peterson

USA

C

2.08

55

Curtis Jerrells

USA

PG

1.85

91

Isaac Rosefelt

USA

PF

2.04

 

Injured

 

 

 

95

Brian Randle

USA

PF

2.03

 

Simone Pianigiani

 

Coach

 

 

REFEREES: ROCHA (Portugal), HALLIKO (Estonia) & LAURINAVICIUS (Lithuania)