Can U-BT produce the miracle against Valencia Basket in Eurocup?
The EuroCup quarterfinals start today and three of the four home teams are clear favourites to advance. Gran Canaria is lower ranked than Hapoel Jerusalem and will play away, but the Spanish team is considered slightly favourite to qualify.
The other Spanish team however will play at home and it would be a huge surprise if they fail to qualify. At the La Fonteta, Valencia will welcome U-BT Cluj and the hosts are considered to be the main favourites not only to win this game but to win the EuroCup. It would be the fifth time that the ‘’Taronges’’ lift the EuroCup trophy and it would automatically qualify them for the EuroLeague regular season which they played in the last two seasons.
The two teams already met twice this season as they were both in Group B. In Round 3 back in October, U-BT had a great start to the game in front of its home crowd and the Romanian champions led by 17 points in the second quarter (42-25). However, Valencia managed to come back thanks to an exceptional shooting performance from the three-point line: Pedro Martinez’s team made 20 of 40 three-point attempts and Xabi Lopez Arostegui finished with 6 of 8 long-range shots. In the end, Valencia won 105-96 in one of the most spectacular games of the season.
The second meeting between the two teams was not that spectacular, as the game was practically over by halftime. Valencia scored an incredible 73 points in the first two quarters, and they entered the half with a 25-point lead. The final score was 108-80, and Valencia had eight players with over 10 points. Meanwhile, Sasu Salin was the top scorer for Cluj with 18 points.
It will be an interesting matchup at the point guard position where Chris Jones will face Zavier Simpson, who was phenomenal this season and has a chance to become the EuroCup season MVP. But Simpson alone will not be enough for U-BT as they need a great performance from everyone in their roster and they need to limit Valencia’s offence to under 100 points this time for a chance to advance.
Gratian Cormos
Photo credit: EuroLeague
