Valencia Basket faces its seventh semifinal in nine seasons vs. Kirolbet Baskonia

Valencia Basket has the opportunity to enter its third Endesa League final if is capable to win the game vs. Kirolbet Baskonia (Sunday 28, 20:00, Fonteta, #Vamos) in the second of the semifinals to be played in La Fonteta within the Final Phase of the national competition.

 

It will be the first time that the Taronja team faces a single-game semifinal, although it already has experience at this point in the post-season, as tomorrow is its seventh semi-final in the last nine seasons. With a victory for each team in the precedents of this same season, Valencia Basket has not had good experiences facing this opponent in qualifying rounds for the title (has fallen in three of the four previous series), although the last time (and the only one in the semifinals), the taronja squad sealed their pass to the Final at the Fonteta.

 

Coach Jaume Ponsarnau has in Mike Tobey the most valued player of this Final Phase of those who remain in competition (15.4 points and 10.8 rebounds for a 22.2 evaluation) and has found Jordan Loyd in a streak (17, 3 points with 53% in triples in the last three games) to get another offensive reference to make up for the absences.

 

Alberto Abalde's participation in this game will be doubtful until the last moment due to a muscle problem in the abdominal region, with Maurice Ndour very improbable and Guillem Vives sidelined.

 

Rosters

VALENCIA BASKET

Nº

Nombre

Nacimiento

Posición

Alt.

1

Quino Colom

España

Base

1.88

2

Vanja Marinkovic

Serbia

Escolta

1.98

3

Jordan Loyd

EE.UU

Escolta

1.93

7

Louis Labeyrie

Francia

Ala-pívot

2.08

9

Sam Van Rossom

Bélgica

Base

1.88

10

Mike Tobey

EE.UU

Pívot

2.13

12

Brock Motum

Australia/Lituania

Ala-pívot

2.08

14

Bojan Dubljevic

Montenegro

Pívot

2.05

19

Fernando San Emeterio

España

Alero

1.99

21

Josep Puerto

España

Alero

1.99

30

Joan Sastre

España

Escolta

2.01

42

Aaron Doornekamp

Canadá/Holanda

Ala-pívot

2.01

 

Doubtful

 

 

 

5

Maurice Ndour

Senegal

Ala-pívot

2.06

6

Alberto Abalde

España

Alero

2.02

 

Injured list

 

 

 

16

Guillem Vives

España

Base

1.92

Jaume Ponsarnau

Entrenador

 

KIROLBET BASKONIA

Nº

Nombre

Nacimiento

Posición

Alt.

3

Luca Vildoza

Argentina/Italia

Base

1.90

5

Miguel González

España

Escolta

2.03

7

Pierria Henry

EE.UU

Base

1.96

8

Tadas Sedekerskis

Lituania

Alero

2.04

11

Matt Janning

EE.UU/Georgia

Escolta

1.93

12

Ilimane Diop

España

Pívot

2.10

15

Jayson Granger

Uruguay/ITA

Base

1.88

17

Sergi García

España

Base

1.93

23

Tornike Shengelia

Georgia

Ala-pívot

2.06

30

Zoran Dragic

Escolta

Eslovenia

1.96

31

Shavon Shields

Dinamarca

Alero

2.01

33

Achille Polonara

Italia

Ala-pívot

2.05

47

Arturs Kurucs

Letonia

Escolta

1.93

50

Micheal Eric

Nigeria

Pívot

2.10

 

Dusko Ivanovic

 

Entrenador

 

 

REFEREES: