Valencia Basket faces the second game of the week against Casademont Zaragoza, this time in J18 of the LF Endesa at La Fonteta on Sunday, January 26 at 12:00 p.m. The team coached by Rubén Burgos achieved a solid victory in the EuroLeague Women against the Aragonese team at the Príncipe Felipe, securing their spot in the Final Six of the competition. Now, the orange team aims to secure another win in the LF Endesa to maintain their lead – currently with a record of 15-2 – and extend their advantage over Casademont Zaragoza to four victories. However, it won’t be easy as Valencia Basket has doubts about the participation of four players who have been unable to train since Wednesday due to a gastrointestinal virus.
Rubén Burgos analyzes the game
“It is true that this season, starting with the Super Cup final, we have had several important matchups between these two teams in the competitions we play. We have a good memory of two days ago, achieving the qualification for the EuroLeague Women Final Six is a step we wanted as a club for this season, but what this demands from us is to aspire to more things, opens up paths to more opportunities and continue to impose our mentality that these achievements come if you put the team before the individual. I think we are all on the same page and we have to continue this game at home to try to stay at the top of the standings. There is still a long second half of the season and against a rival that will surely present us with different scenarios as has happened in all the games. There will be more zone defenses that did not appear in the EuroLeague game, we will see the physical condition of both squads. Ours, for example, in these days there are several players who have not been able to work with the group, in fact, they are at home sick with a stomach virus and gastroenteritis, vomiting, so we will see if they make it to the game and at what level they arrive. Working with the Challenge players, trying to polish those aspects that we can improve, from the first part in Zaragoza and anticipating the different contexts that this game may present and the changes we want to introduce”.
Carrera, Ouviña and Zeta, out, and four doubts for the game
Valencia Basket will have the usual absences of Cristina Ouviña and Raquel Carrera. The latter has already started working partially with the team, in her recovery process from the anterior cruciate ligament tear she suffered in March. María Zeta will also not be able to participate in the game, as she is dealing with an ankle sprain. Rubén Burgos will have doubts about four players who have not been able to train with the team since Wednesday due to a gastrointestinal virus, so their participation in the game will be decided based on their evolution in the next 24 hours. To complete the roster, young players Alicia Flórez and Irene Broncano will join.
Previous matchups
The orange team has played 22 games against Casademont Zaragoza. They are divided into 9 in the regular phase of the LF Endesa, 4 in league playoffs, 3 in the Queen’s Cup, 2 in the Super Cup, and 4 in the EuroLeague Women. Last season saw a total of eight official matchups between the two teams. In the Super Cup semifinals, home and away in the EuroLeague Women group stage, home and away in the LF Endesa regular phase, the Cup final, and the home and away in the league semifinals. The record from last season was 7-1 for the orange team, with a single defeat in a European competition away game. This year there have already been four matchups. One was in the Super Cup final, which Valencia Basket won. The second one was in the first round of the LF Endesa in Aragonese territory in national competition with a local victory, on an unfortunate day for Valencia Basket that ended with a score of 79-52. The third and fourth in the EuroLeague Women ended with an orange victory, the most recent being last Wednesday by 64-79. The overall record is 18-4.
Defeat in the away game in Zaragoza (79-52)
The orange team suffered a tough defeat in J11 of the LF Endesa in Zaragoza, where they had serious problems throughout the game both in attack and defense, which they could not overcome, attributing to the absences of Leticia Romero and Kayla Alexander. The standout player for the home team was Mawuli, who scored 26 points, while for Valencia Basket, Mavunga was the top scorer with 18.
Average vs difference in victories
With that defeat, Casademont Zaragoza has an average of 27 points, difficult to recover for Valencia Basket. However, Rubén Burgos’ team has a clear advantage, which is the three victories they have more than the Aragonese team. In case of a win at La Fonteta, the difference would be four, a good cushion for the remainder of the LF Endesa second half, despite the mentioned average.
Ford sponsors the game
In this match, we will have the support of Ford as the official sponsor of the game. Custom clappers from the brand will be distributed so that the arena keeps cheering and Ford merchandise will be given out to the fans. There will be a game in the stands consisting of a car face-off, and also a ‘Car Cam’ to liven up a break during the game. There will also be a game of ‘The Price Is Right’ with YSK. Finally, the Ford logo will appear on the usual advertising media and this brand will be considered the official sponsor of the game in all the Club’s official social media publications.
The opponent: Casademont Zaragoza
The Aragonese team is one of the most competitive teams in both the national league and European competition.
Malgré la défaite mercredi dernier contre Valence Basket, Casademont Zaragoza est assuré de sa présence en quarts de finale du play-in, où ils chercheront à obtenir un billet pour la Final Six. Un grand succès car les deux équipes sont les seules espagnoles à avoir avancé dans la compétition, malgré leur histoire récente. Cependant, en LF Endesa, ils semblent rencontrer quelques difficultés, avec un bilan de 12-5 à la quatrième place. Il reste encore beaucoup de championnat à jouer.
Cantero ne pourra pas compter sur Dalma Czukor, absente pour cause de grossesse. En principe, Helena Oma ne jouera pas non plus, car elle vient de reprendre l’entraînement avec l’équipe après une blessure qui l’a tenue à l’écart pendant plus d’un an.
L’équipe aragonaise compte sur une paire dominante en LF Endesa. D’un côté, Ortiz avec ses 8,4 points, 4,6 rebonds, 4,6 passes décisives (la 4e meilleure en LF Endesa) et 12,2 d’évaluation par match. D’autre part, Gatling a une moyenne de 12,5 points, 5,5 rebonds et 12,1 d’évaluation par rencontre. On souligne également aux côtés d’elles Atkinson, qui a une moyenne de 11,6 points, 4,2 rebonds, 2,1 passes décisives et presque 14 d’évaluation par match.
Sigue el partido en…
Plantillas
VALENCIA BASKET
Nº Nombre Nacimiento Posición Alt.
1 Stephanie Mavunga EE.UU. / Polonia Pívot 1.91
4 Nadia Fingall EE.
Alba Torrens
España
Ala-Pívot
1.92
7
Alba Torrens
España
Ala-Pívot
1.92
9
Queralt Casas
España
Escolta
1.77
10
Leticia Romero
España
Base/Escolta
1.72
13
Leo Fiebich
Alemania
Alero
1.93
15
Irene Broncano
España
Alero
