Valencia Basket bursts Penya's dream

BadalonaAsisa Joventut's season ended with applause from fans proud of their performance. La Penya lost to a much superior Valencia Basket (75-87) and was eliminated from the title race (3-0). Hampered by their low three-point shooting percentages, La Penya fell short of points and was not enough with a good performance from Ricky Rubio, who couldn't hold back tears, and Jabari Parker. "I gave my all, we made a brutal effort. We've built a team to be proud of and that's what we'll take away. We competed and showed a good image, but we ran out of steam," explained Dani Miret. The orange team will play the final against Barça.

Valencia Basket had a good start in Badalona, where the orange team only needed four minutes to build an 8-point lead (3-11). Three three-pointers from Jean Montero boosted the visiting team. La Penya's reaction was solid. The green and black team took advantage of the opponent's low percentages to reduce the gap (18-20).

A 7-2 run helped Asisa Joventut start playing with their usual personality (25-22). Despite the green and black reaction, Pedro Martínez maintained his game plan. The strategy worked for him and the Valencian team regained its usual scoring rhythm (30-37). Rubio, Hunt, and Parker managed to bring the game to a tie at halftime (39-41).

The clashes between Guillem Vives and Jean Montero made the game heat up. Asisa Joventut competed well and managed to achieve a four-point lead, but they paid for their low outside shooting percentages. Valencia Basket aggressively attacked the offensive rebound and, thanks to this, had many second chances. A 0-16 run accentuated the visiting team's approach and left La Penya against the ropes (52-64).

Encouraged by a fanbase that never gave up, Asisa Joventut used the personality of Rubio and Parker to adjust the score (71-76), but Valencia Basket's final stretch was once again brilliant.