Sito Alonso surprised Xavi Albert once. But there was no second one. Neither with zone nor without zone. Valencia Basket, with no room for error, took a step forward at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia, where UCAM had only suffered a couple of defeats all season, and with a hard-fought victory, with several players physical limit, like Chris Jones or Semi Ojeleye, regular starters, beat UCAM Murcia 72-83 and forced a tiebreaker in this quarter-final tie of the ACB League, which will be played on Saturday (8:45 p.m.) in Valencia. The winner will face Unicaja, who have already eliminated Baxi Manresa (2-0).
Sito Alonso’s team, as combative as the first day, enjoying the psychological game, floating players like Inglis or Pradilla, had much more difficulties in attack than in the first game. Valencia came to enjoy several advantages that allowed them to think about a more peaceful night, but the Murcia team and its 7,000 followers were not willing to give up so easily.
UCAM Murcia reacted after the break and managed to turn the game around. The duel took both teams to the limit, with a lot of physical and psychological wear, but Valencia Basket, guided by Jovic (13 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 recoveries) in the absence of Jones, maintained dominance in the second half. Jaime Pradilla, with a fantastic last quarter, was decisive with decisive actions both in defense and attack and allowed his team to stay alive in the playoffs.
Valencia Basket now has the home field advantage to seal a tie in front of its fans in which both opponents have won as visitors. The taronja team regains its status as favorite, although it only has three days to recover such important players as Chris Jones (ankle injury), Semi Ojeleye (with back problems) and Damien Inglis, who left limping.
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