It will their third matchup of the season as Valencia already beat Cluj twice in regular-season action
Valencia, Cluj, go at it again
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A big crowd is expected at La Fonteta when four-time EuroCup champion Valencia Basket hosts U-BT Cluj-Napoca in the last of the quarterfinal showdown on Wednesday at 20:30 CET. It is the only quarterfinal game in which both teams have already played against each other earlier this season.
Indeed, both teams faced each other for the first time on October 9, 2024. Valencia rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to grab a 96-105 road victory in front of 9,600 fans at BT-Arena. Semi Ojeleye and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui paced the winners that night with 22 points apiece. A couple of months later, Valencia thrashed Cluj 108-80 at home. Ojeleye, Jean Montero and Josep Puerto led eight Valencia players in double digits with 14 points each.
Valencia has posted impressive numbers all season long, opening the regular season with 12 consecutive victories and finishing with a competition-best 16-2 record. It leads all teams in scoring (96.4 ppg.), rebounds (41.0 rpg.), assists (23.2 apg.), three-point shooting (39.0% 3FG) and PIR (115.5). Until now, Paris Basketball holds the record for the best-ever average in points (97.0 ppg.) and PIR (113.6), which it achieved last season. Valencia has reached 100 points or more in 11 of the 18 games it has disputed in this campaign.
Cluj started the 2024-25 season with three consecutive losses and bounced back after that, finishing fifth in Group B with a 10-8 record. It went on to down Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 99-100 in a double-overtime classic in the EuroCup Eighthfinals behind 26 points and 14 assists from Zavier Simpson. It was the first postseason double-overtime game since 2016 and the club's first-ever EuroCup playoff victory.
Even when Valencia ranks first in most statistical categories, Cluj has players ranking higher in the individual rankings. Simpson is the competition's leader in assists (7.8 apg.) and ranks third in scoring (18.2 ppg.), way ahead of any Valencia player. Ojeleye is Valencia's leader scorer with 12.8 points per game, while Zach Hankins (6.1 rpg.) and the injured De'Shawn Stephens (5.9 rpg.) are ahead of any Valencia player in the rebounding charts. Jaime Pradilla is Valencia's leading rebounder with 5.8 boards per night.
Cluj also had some experienced players in the competition, which has added value in do-or-die games like this. Sasu Salin ranks fifth all-time in three-pointers made (222), Gediminas Orelik is sixth (212) and D.J. Seeley 11th (175). Fun fact: Salin needs two three-pointers to go past Valencia legend Rafa Martinez (223) in the three-point charts, and can do it at La Fonteta. Seeley ranks seventh all-time in scoring with 1,334 points. Salin and Seeley helped Gran Canaria reach the semifinals in 2016, losing against Galatasaray Istanbul.
Playing at La Fonteta is always good news for Valencia. Valencia has played 126 games in its favorite building, getting 109 wins (86.5%). It has only registered four postseason home losses there: against Virtus Bologna in the 2022 semifinals, Unicaja Malaga in Game 3 of the 2017 Finals, Khimki Moscow Region in the 2015 quarterfinals, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in the 2013 semifinals. All four of those teams were champions at the end of the season.
In other words, the game has a little bit of everything: a heavy favorite looking to take a crucial step towards its fifth crown and a fearless Cinderella with experienced players ready to make some more noise in arguably the most historic arena in competition history. My advice? Cancel your plans on Wednesday night and make sure you watch what promises to be a very interesting showdown.