Valencia Basket visit the Palau Blaugrana for the Endesa League quarterfinals game 2

Valencia Basket faces the second game of their Endesa League quarterfinals Playoff vs. FC Barcelona Lassa (Thursday 25, 20:00h, Palau Blaugrana, # 0) in what is their first opportunity to certify the ticket to the semifinals, as they got the win in the first game of this best of three Playoff. The story goes that Valencia Basket counts in his favor with his recent career (three wins against Barça in the last three clashes of the current season) and their good run in the Palau Blaugrana in the post-season (he has won in their last three visits in Playoff to the Catalan court), although against has its previous precedents in eliminatory by the title against this rival, that never has eliminated in a series of Playoff.

 

And the only precedent of the current season in the Palau Blaugrana fell from the local side by a score of 94-82. The coach Pedro Martinez will not have neither the Belgian point guard Sam Van Rossom, not registered for the Playoff when relapsing of his problems in the left knee, nor with Tobey. The one that could play a few minutes in the game 1 was the Ukrainian center Slava Kravtsov, who returned to play after three months injured.

 

Pedro Martínez: “At their court, I expect a Barça at their best level”

Valencia Basket coach Pedro Martínez said in the press conference prior to the Endesa League quarterfinals game 2 vs. FC Barcelona Lassa that "we have a huge respect for them, it is a team with very good players and very good professionals. And for nothing we have the feeling that they are going to throw the game or do not want to extend the series. Rather the opposite. We expect a Barça at their best level, which is very high at their court. They are one of the best teams of the Endesa League playing at home and there he has won with enough facility to the first four of the League. In their field they deserve all the credit and we believe that it will be a very difficult game. We hope to take advantage of our opportunities if they arise. Always from humility, but without losing the ambition. Although they have finished sixths that does not mean that they are a bad team, that they will not fight or that they will not score, because they have quality and we wait for the best Barça possible. The opposite would be an error of approach that in the team we do not have it".

 

Rosters

FC BARCELONA LASSA

Nº

Nombre

Nacimiento

Posición

Alt.

1

Xavier Munford

EE.UU

Base

1.90

2

Tyrese Rice

EE.UU/Montenegro

Base

1.85

10

Víctor Claver

España

Ala-pívot

2.07

14

Aleksandar Vezenkov

Bulgaria

Ala-pívot

2.06

20

Marcus Eriksson

Suecia

Alero

2.01

21

Moussa Diagné

Senegal

Pívot

2.11

24

Brad Oleson

EE.UU/España

Escolta

1.91

25

Petteri Koponen

Finlandia

Base

1.94

32

Alex Renfroe

EE.UU/Bosnia

Base

1.91

33

Stratos Perperoglou

Grecia

Alero

2.03

44

Ante Tomic

Croacia

Pívot

2.17

 

Out

 

 

 

5

Justin Doellman

EE.UU

Ala-pívot

2.06

8

Pau Ribas

España

Escolta

1.94

11

Juan Carlos Navarro

España

Escolta

1.92

 

Georgios Bartzokas

 

Entrenador

 

 

VALENCIA BASKET

Nº

Nombre

Nacimiento

Posición

Alt.

0

Will Thomas

EE.UU/Georgia

Ala-pívot

2.03

8

Antoine Diot

Francia

Base/Escolta

1.93

10

Romain Sato

R.Centroafricana

Alero

1.94

14

Bojan Dubljevic

Montenegro

Pívot

2.05

16

Guillem Vives

España

Base

1.92

17

Rafa Martínez

España

Escolta

1.90

18

Pierre Oriola

España

Ala-pívot

2.06

19

Fernando San Emeterio

España

Alero

1.99

30

Joan Sastre

España

Escolta

2.00

43

Luke Sikma

EE.UU

Ala-pívot

2.03

55

Viacheslav Kravtsov

Ucrania

Pívot

2.13

 

Out

 

 

 

9

Sam Van Rossom

Bélgica

Base

1.88

21

Mike Tobey

EE.UU

Pívot

2.13

 

Pedro Martínez

 

Entrenador

 

 

REFEREES: HIERREZUELO - ARAÑA - MARTINEZ FERNANDEZ