Defeat in a close finish in Badalona (90-87)

Valencia Basket suffered a setback in their visit to Asisa Joventut's court, falling 90-87 in a very evenly matched game that saw constant back-and-forth scoring. The final quarter favored the home team, and Valencia failed to capitalize on their last chance to force overtime. In a back-and-forth first half, Valencia responded to Joventut's first two runs, hitting three consecutive three-pointers at the start of the second quarter to take the lead. However, Joventut pulled away in the final stretch, sending Valencia into halftime with a narrow deficit. This pattern continued in the third quarter, with Valencia initially extending their lead, only for Joventut to respond thanks to Hakanson, leaving Valencia trailing by five points at the end of the period. Valencia Basket managed to find their rhythm once again and take the lead, but two three-pointers from Hunt propelled the final quarter to Penya and the orange team fought until the last play, but could not win the game.

Quotes by Pedro Martínez

 “Congratulations to Joventut. They played a very good game. They have some very strong points, and their style of play is very difficult to defend. They move the ball very well and have outstanding players like Ricky Rubio, Tomic, and Hunt. Even the players who may not have the same physical attributes make the most of their opportunities and know what they have to do. They competed better than us, hurting us with offensive rebounds. We missed too many free throws, and especially in the first half, our defense was below where we would have liked against a team with so many weapons.”