Valencia Basket’s first male team will face the first chapter of their tenth BKT Eurocup semifinals tomorrow against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv(Tuesday 25, 8:30 PM, Fonteta, #Vamos) with the right to have the Orange Family by their side that they earned during the group stage. Pedro Martínez’s men will need the Fonteta to be at its best for this European night in order to try to secure the first point of the tie against a rival with an excellent squad, led by top-level coach Dimitris Itoudis since November, who has been considered one of the favorites to win the title alongside our team since the beginning of the competition. This will be the first meeting between these two teams, making the red team our 108th opponent in continental competitions and the fifth Israeli team to visit Fonteta for an official match. Teams from this nationality have been dangerous opponents in the past, winning in five of their fourteen previous visits. And although there are no previous records against this opponent, Valencia Basket has achieved good results in the past in semifinals with this format. The Orange team will go into this match with the absences of long-term injured players Ethan Happ and Sergio De Larrea.
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv comes to Fonteta on an eight-game winning streak and after qualifying for the Eurocup semifinals for the first time in their history by defeating Turk Telekom Ankara in the quarterfinals 67-61. With a significant investment since the arrival of new ownership in 2023, the red team doubled their budget to attract top-level players to their project this season, including players who were important in the Euroleague last season like Motley and Madar, signing a solid player in the top European competition like Caboclo, players with NBA experience like Wainright or Blakeney, and reinforcing with experienced players at the highest European level like Foster or Ragland, in addition to incorporating some of the best Israeli internationals. An ambitious project that arrives at this point in the season with a chance to fulfill the high aspirations set at the beginning of the season.
Pedro Martínez assesses the match
Coach Pedro Martínez pointed out in the preview of this series’ first game that «it’s a beautiful moment. The semifinal of a European competition. It’s very difficult to get here. We have been working for many months. We have experienced all kinds of moments. The motivation and excitement are very high. We live to play these games. The players are motivated. We are privileged to play these games, to have this pressure that we have. Pressure, fear of defeat, excitement for victory. We have all of this before this game. We will enjoy it. We will fight, and hopefully we can win. I expect a very close tie. It will be tremendous. If you had told me in preseason, when you see how the teams are, I believe we were one of the favorites. We don’t hide, we’re not afraid, we can say it. Valencia is a team that has played in the Euroleague in recent seasons and we are one of the favorites. But Hapoel Tel Aviv was the other big favorite of the competition. When they put together the roster, when you see the players they sign and then on top of that, they have strengthened very well throughout the year with Bingham, with the change of coach. A legend like Itoudis. It’s a very big tie. It could have been in the final, but it’s in the semifinal. It doesn’t matter, we have to play against everyone. The winner of this tie won’t necessarily be the champion. They will have to play a final. But it’s a great tie. We have to be prepared to play against a great team that will put us in many difficulties, and with a good spirit to move forward.»
Pamesa Cerámica sponsors the match
In this match where we need the atmosphere of Fonteta for these great European nights, we will have a very special animation provided by Pamesa Cerámica as the official sponsor of the match. During the game, the sponsor will measure the level of animation with the noise meter, and their zeppelin will continue to fly over the roof of our pavilion throughout the match. The Pamesa Cerámica logo will appear on the usual advertising supports and will be considered the official sponsor of the match in all publications on the Club’s official Social Networks.
Tenth Eurocup semifinal for Valencia Basket
Valencia Basket faces in this tough series against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv their tenth BKT Eurocup semifinal. In the previous nine, Valencia Basket has reached the final on six occasions (eliminating Estudiantes, Panellinios, Rytas Vilnius, Nizhny Novgorod, Hapoel Jerusalem, and Unics Kazan) and has been eliminated in this round on three occasions (by Rytas Vilnius, Lokomotiv Kuban, and Virtus Bologna). It will be their third semifinal with the current best-of-three format and so far, this system has worked well for them. In the two previous occasions, they also had the home advantage and advanced. In the 2016-17 season, they defeated Hapoel Jerusalem 2-1, winning the decisive third game at Fonteta 90-75. In the 2018-19 season, they beat Unics Kazan 2-0.
A new rival in our continental history
This first game will mark the first occasion in which Valencia Basket will face this opponent in their history in European competitions, making Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv the 108th opponent in our continental history. They will be the fifth Israeli team on the list and the last to debut at this venue.
Anteriorment, van passar per la Fonteta els equips Hapoel Eliat, Hapoel Galil Elyon, Maccabi Tel Aviv i Hapoel Jerusalem. El balanç contra equips d’aquesta nacionalitat del Valencia Basket en la nostra pista és de 9-5.
Els dos atacs més eficaços de la competició
Aquesta eliminatòria posa cara a cara dos equips que arriben a aquest moment després d’haver sigut els dos millors de la competició en l’eficàcia dels seus atacs. El conjunt valencià i l’israelià són respectivament primer i segon en el ràting ofensiu (1,24 per 1,18, encara que des que Itoudis va arribar a l’equip, el seu OER és de 1,21), en eficiència neta (19,7 per 12,3) i en l’eficàcia de tirs de camp (58,7% per 56,8%, encara que des del canvi d’entrenador, els israelians han pujat el seu eFG% fins a un 58%). El conjunt taronja és el que millor tira de tres punts (39,1%) mentre que el quadre roig és el més eficaç llançant en la pintura (60,5% en tir de dos punts). I a més, des del canvi en la banqueta, l’equip israelià ha passat de ser el que pitjor percentatge de triples tenia a tenir la quarta millor eficàcia (37,3%). Valencia Basket és el que més punts anota (96,5) mentre que el Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv és tercer en el global, encara que des de l’arribada de Itoudis ha pujat fins a anotar 89,3 punts per xoc. També són els dos equips que més assistències repartixen (23,6 per 20,6) encara que la defensa del Hapoel és la que menys passades de cistella permet als seus rivals (només 16,2). A nivell defensiu, tots dos equips també estan entre els destacats, amb Valencia Basket amb el segon millor ràting defensiu (1,05) mentre que el Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv té el tercer (1,06).
Motley-Madar: la millor parella de la BKT Eurocup
Atenent el que diu l’estadística i la seva aportació per al col·lectiu, probablement la parella que formen el pivot Johnathan Motley i el base Yam Madar és la millor de la competició. L’interior nord-americà és el sisè màxim anotador del torneig amb 16,3 punts sent el que més tirs de dos anota (6) amb un 61,2% en tirs de dos. A més captura 5 rebots, aporta 2,5 assistències i és el tercer que més faltes rep (6,3) per a ser el cinquè jugador més valorat de la competició (19,1 crèdits). L’israelià Yam Madar no ha jugat el nombre suficient de partits per a estar en les classificacions estadístiques generals, però els seus 18,7 crèdits li convertirien en el sisè millor valorat. Titular indiscutible des de la seva arribada, aporta 14,1 punts amb un 50% en triples i un dels millors True Shooting del torneig, 2,3 rebots, 4 assistències i 1,3 recuperacions i l’estadística avançada el col·loca entre els millors de la competició. És el que més punts fica per llançament (1,9), té la sisena millor eficàcia ofensiva (134,8 punts anotats cada 100 possessions) i és cinquè en el Player Efficiency Ràting (25,4).
El rival: Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Al costat de Motley i Madar, que han sigut fixos sempre que han estat disponibles, el conjunt israelià té un quintet inicial tipus bastant definit amb Marcus Foster (13,6 punts amb un 43,5% en triples i 2,9 rebots per a 12,2 crèdits) i Ishmail Wainright (6 punts i 3,5 rebots) completant el joc exterior i Tomer Ginat (8,9 punts i 4,6 rebots per a 10,1 crèdits) tancant la parella interior. Des de la banqueta, l’equip roig compta amb molta qualitat amb l’amenaça ofensiva de l’amenaça ofensiva d’Antonio Blakeney (9,9 punts i 2 rebots) i la capacitat de direcció i generació de Joe Ragland (5,7 punts i 4 assistències però segon en la classificació del Pure Point Ràting per darrere de Jovic) i Bar Timor (5,9 punts i 2,4 assistències). Per dins, un jugador amb etiqueta Eurolliga com Bruno Caboclo (8 punts i 3,8 rebots) dona profunditat a una posició de cinc en la qual compten també amb Marcus Bingham (7,5 punts i 3 rebots). Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Can you please rewrite this for me? Can you please rephrase this? Please rephrase. Please rewrite the text. Please provide me with a rewritten version of the text. Could you please rewrite this sentence for me? Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Can you please rewrite this sentence? Can you please rewrite this sentence? Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please provide a sentence or paragraph for me to rewrite. Please provide an alternative version of the text. Please rewrite this sentence. Can you please rewrite this sentence? Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite this sentence for me. Please rephrase this statement. Please rewrite the following sentence for me. Can you rephrase that? Can you please rewrite this sentence? Please rewrite the following sentence:
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FUENTE
