The Dominican Jean Montero noted 22 points to lead this Thursday the Valencia Basket to deactivate Panathinaikos and lead the locals to a victory of 102 by 84 after securing the quarterfinals of this Euroleague last day, to a victory with which they will finish in the top four and will have a court advantage in that crossing prior to the Final Four in Athens.
“These players are crazy, they think they can beat everyone,” Pedro Martínez said a few days ago and this Thursday the madness broke out again in the Roig Arena before the indomitable momentum of a team that does not want to put a ceiling on itself.
Unleashed by the success of being in the quarterfinals, the locals dominated the first half driven by their scoring ease. But in the second, when an area of the Greek team changed the script of the match, they knew how to adapt, maintain a solid command of the rebound and put themselves in the hands of the brilliant Montero to achieve a victory that places them in second place.
Released from pressure after its victory on Tuesday, Valencia Basket started in its element, scoring from three and running, with Nate Reuvers and Papi Badio as stilettos. With five hits in their first eleven triples, the locals hit the morale of their rival, unable to take advantage of their physical defensive display.
With homework still to be done in the classification, Panathinaikos was serious but under more pressure and the 2 of 10 with which they opened their series of triples hindered their attacks. Veteran Kostas Sloukas tried to convey calm to his team but what the Greek team needed was to stop the local scoring torrent and they could not achieve that (38-30, m.13).
The exchange of baskets was constant, but the 56% local success rate from the 6.75 line, with 9 successes out of 16 shots, and the visitor’s 27% with 3 triples from 11 attempts, reinforced Valencia’s advantage and gave fuel to the Roig Arena stands, lit up since Tuesday.
That confidence also boosted the locals in rebounding, a facet in which it was difficult for them to compete due to physicality and which they dominated with ease at half-time.
On the wing, Ergin Ataman despaired of Valencia’s effectiveness but his team did not panic and his perseverance and Nigel Hayes-Davis’ points allowed him to reduce the damage before the break (56-47, m.20).
The passage through the locker room allowed the Greek team a zonal defense that seemed as difficult to execute as it was to read. In that context, a couple of actions by Josep Puerto and a handful of new rebounds on both baskets gave Valencia some time to figure out the key. But the challenge was already there, the scenario had changed.
The Turkish Cedi Osman narrowed the score and fueled the hope of the nearly five hundred ‘green’ followers who had accompanied his team to Valencia. The locals did not understand how to attack but, at least, they maintained their hunger for the rebound and improvised with certain criteria.
A technique for Ataman helped him pass the drink but it was above all three geniuses from the Dominican Jean Montero that restored his confidence that victory was closer than it seemed and reminded him that the pressure was on his rival (82-69, m.30).
With Montero distributing the game and Braxton Key multiplying in the tasks of administration, the ‘taronja’ advantage grew to 16 points although their interiors were increasingly loaded with fouls. The pressure began to weigh on Panathinaikos and a couple of unforced errors allowed the clock to run down without the local advantage falling below ten points.
There was not even a final attempt by Panathinaikos to tighten the score despite the fact that the Greeks had a very difficult time avoiding the ‘play in’ because Montero, unleashed, did not stop a show until time was up and Valencia had already secured being ‘top 4’, a new peak conquered for the revelation of this Euroleague.
