Valencia Basket sealed spot in the quarterfinals led by Ojeleye's strong fourth quarter
Semi Ojeleye sent Valencia to the quarterfinals
Article
3 Mins read
Valencia Basket became the first team to lock down a quarterfinals spot in the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup with Tuesday's 91-96 victory over 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys in Round 15. That win guaranteed Coach Pedro Martinez's men a top 2 finish in Group B. Valencia has thus earned a bye the eighthfinals round and will play at home in the single-game quarterfinals.
Lietkabelis had already beaten Valencia earlier this season at La Fonteta, 106-107 in overtime. It was the first team to beat Valencia in EuroCup action this season and led 78-76 early in the fourth quarter. The game had been a back-and-forth battle until star forward Semi Ojeleye decided he'd had enough.
Ojeleye buried consecutive three-pointers and added a pair of free throws in an 0-8 run that put Valencia ahead for good, 78-84. He had time to bury another bomb from downtown, another foul shot and a driving layup to get 13 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. When Lietkabelis got within 91-93, Chris Jones sealed the outcome with a critical three-point play. On a team loaded with talent, Ojeleye and Jones have proven to be the most experienced players and the go-to guys in close games.
Valencia played better defense when it mattered most, too, limiting Lietkabelis to just 17 fourth-quarter points. The hosts found easy options inside the arc for 30 minutes, making 23 of 35 two-pointers (65.7% 2FG), dishing 20 assists and committing just 9 turnovers. Everything changed in the fourth quarter, in which Lietkabelis made just 3 of 8 two-pointers (37.5% 2FG) and had as many assists as turnovers, 4.
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The fact that Valencia already punched its ticket to the quarterfinals should not slow the team down, as there is a bigger goal at stake. Right now, Valencia leads Group B with a 13-2 record and a whopping global average of +217. Finishing the regular season with a better record than any team in Group A would give Valencia the home-court advantage in each and every potential playoff series in both the semifinals and the finals.
"They are a good team. It's a good competition and they play so hard, and when a team plays that hard, they always have a chance to win. We were able to come out with a win tonight just because I think we matched their energy in the end," Ojeleye said.
"I want to win, and I want to win for my teammates. I think everybody on the team wants to win, so at any point we have great players that can do the same thing, whether it's Jean [Montero], Chris [Jones], Xabi [Lopez-Arostegui]... We have all had big moments."