Valencia, June 21 (EFE).- Valencia Basket will visit Real Madrid this Sunday at the Movistar Arena, in the second game of the Endesa League final, obliged to sharpen their game in attack and defense to achieve a victory that compensates for their defeat on Friday and allows them to face Wednesday’s match at the Fonteta without the pressure of a 2-0 deficit.
In the first game of the series, Valencia started intense in defense but the lack of offensive success, especially in the 6.75 line, caused them to lower their performance in the back and give up control of the match to their rival as the minutes passed. When Real Madrid accelerated at the beginning of the last quarter, they had no weapons to counter it.
Part of Valencia’s offensive errors could have been due to nerves from playing a final that none of their players had played before, a toll that they might not have to pay in this second game and that especially affected the Dominican Jean Montero, their main offensive reference, who finished with 1 of 9 in field goals and without going to the free throw line. Sergio De Larrea also struggled more than other days.
Without the playmaking of both, comfortable balls didn’t reach others like Semi Ojeleye, Nate Sestina or Josep Puerto, who between the three accumulated only four field goals. In this situation, many situations ended in individual actions by Chris Jones, whose uneven accuracy held the team in some moments but is far from being able to win a game against such an opponent. At least Brancou Badio showed that he is still in a state of grace.
Shaking off nerves and increasing offensive accuracy must be the first step to improve the version offered at the WiZink Center. Greater confidence in attack should lead to a more aggressive defense, especially in the first line.
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On Friday, despite the difficulty of the task, Valencia was able to control Walter Tavares for many minutes, partly due to the good work of Nate Reuvers, but their outside teammates, especially Montero, Chris Jones and De Larrea himself, struggled to prevent the penetrations of their counterparts, a situation that Valencia must improve.
A sharper defense on the front line should also allow Valencia to score in transition, something they could barely do on Friday and which is one of the keys to their game this season.
As happened in the first match, Valencia will be supported in the stands by around two hundred fans, in this case to try to get a win that prevents them from returning home on the brink of the abyss.
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In the event that Real Madrid achieves a second victory, Valencia would play on Wednesday at the Fonteta, obliged to win to stay alive and, in fact, would have to achieve three consecutive victories to win the title.
With the only absence of Ethan Happ, Valencia will have to make two technical discards again. In the last matches in which Pedro Martínez has had fourteen players, the chosen ones have been Stefan Jovic and Amida Brimah.
