Not a single but can be said about this Valencia Basket. Once again and despite the fatigue, Mumbrú’s team gave their all until the last second and did not deserve a defeat that was also unfair and undeserved, with an inexplicable foul called on Davies on Lessort that was a struggle and that decided a match in the that the visitors ended up taking 29 free throws, compared to only 15 for the locals. Thus, to the indignation of the players, the coaching staff and all of La Fonteta, the scoreboard reflected 81-82, which prevents the Taronja from climbing to sixth place, although they continue in the fight with teams at the top of the classification. .
With the entry of Josep Puerto and the discarding of Boubacar Touré along with Kevin Pangos who will have to wait a little longer to make his taronja debut, Mumbrú initially opted for Jones, Robertson, Ojeleye, Inglis and Reuvers.
Mitoglou opened the scoring and after Reuvers’ reaction, it was Grigonis (who admitted this Friday in Solobasket that he had spoken with Mumbrú two summers ago regarding the option of signing for Valencia Basket) who began to hurt the Taronja, with five consecutive points to make it 2-7.
The Taronja, without losing their nerve, did not take long to react and with a run of 6-0 they were ahead on the scoreboard before the halfway point of the first quarter (10-9), with a triple from Robertson and an Inglis who already shone the Wednesday against Anadolu Efes.
Lessort and Nunn began to appear for Panathinaikos, but the success of Jones, Anderson and Davies allowed the Taronjas to close the first quarter with a minimal advantage (23-22).
The taronja returned to the court with one more defensive march and with Davis beginning to get into tune to close a 10-4 run that allowed them to put the score at +7 (33-26). Of course, the defensive intensity brought with it the burden of fouls in the Taronja interiors, with two from Reuvers, Inglis and Davies with more than six minutes left before the break.
And Panathinaikos took advantage of this, with Kostas Antetokounmpo beginning to add in the zone, while Vildoza punished the taronja rim from 6.75, with two triples in a few minutes, to turn the game around and put the momentary 36 -37.
Mumbrú stopped the game at 4:19 before the break and although López-Arostegui did not take long to return the lead to the hosts, the numerous fouls brought the visitors to the free throw line again and again, luckily without much success.
A 2+1 by Jones and an intense Ojeleye (five rebounds and three of them offensive), with a triple and five points in a row, put La Fonteta back on its feet, although Grant, with a triple almost at the buzzer, prevented the taronja went into the break with an advantage (47-47).
Helena foreign threat
The passage through the locker room did not sit well with the locals, who lowered their defensive intensity and began to struggle to defend Panathinaikos’ outside shooting, which with three-pointers from Mitoglou and Vildoza, escaped with a 50-59 lead. Only Robertson, also from 6.75, scored for the Taronja in the first five minutes of the second half, in a Valencia Basket that accumulated more losses than usual and that struggled to score in static attacks.
But this Valencia Basket always holds on to the games and in a flash, they regained the advantage with points from Davies, Ojeleye and two triples from a Harper who once again revolutionized the game (60-59). Vildoza, with his fourth triple in as many attempts, gave oxygen to his team, but a 3 + 1 from Harper and a 2 + 1 from Reuvers raised the crowd to make it 69-66 with 10 minutes left.
The moment of truth arrived and the defenses began to prevail over the attacks, especially the taronja. Ataman’s team didn’t add up until almost the halfway point with a triple from Vildoza, although Valencia BC also lacked success after some first baskets from López-Arostegui and Ojeleye.
Inglis broke the scoring drought with 3:30 left and unleashed the battle, with Grant, Grigonis and Lessort responding to a basket from Davies to make it 77-77 at 2:05. Inglis, after an offensive rebound, achieved a 2+1 at 1:34.
Minutes of heart attack
Free throws were going to be key and Grant added two to reduce the gap. Each ball was worth its weight in gold and Harper did not hesitate to take a risk with a long pass over Jones to leave him alone facing the basket, although he failed to score after being fouled. The time lost after a ridiculous claim by Ataman for possible unsportsmanlike behavior by Jones in that action seemed to distract Jones, who only scored the first of the free throws.
Final controversy
Vildoza, in an individual action, equalized and Mumbrú called time with 18 seconds left. Harper had to play it and he did, but he missed the triple. And there came the controversy, with an inexplicable foul called to Davies on Lessort that gave him two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining. The Frenchman who missed the first but scored the second. Mumbrú stopped the game again. Jovic gave it to Ojeleye, but the lateral triple on the horn did not go in and the victory escaped by the minimum, between whistles to the referees and applause to the taronja, who once again gave a lesson in courage and effort until the last second despite the fatigue.
2024-01-06 03:00:39
#Pride #taronja #controversial #defeat
