Valencia Basket reaches the Euroleague semifinals for the first time

Valencia Basket will be in the semi-finals of the Final 6, which will be held from April 9 to 13 at the Príncipe Felipe pavilion in Zaragoza, after defeating, but not eliminating, the Turkish Çukurova (who will also be in the quarter-finals). The 32-point advantage obtained in the first leg (89-57), at the Fonteta , was decisive in a return match in which the Turks got to be 22 points ahead in the last quarter (90-68). A scare that did not go any further and Rubén Burgos' team ended up reaching the penultimate round of the Euroleague for the first time in its short history.

There was some fear of some defeats in atypical circumstances for Spanish teams in Mersin. Anomalous situations that smelled of a trap on the always complicated Turkish court. But 32 points was a big advantage, and even more so when Valencia Basket started the return match with a great defense that seemed to be enough of a shield against any ghost. In attack, the team was rocked by the Canarian rhythm of Leti Romero and the second options that Kayla Alexander and Nadia Fingall gave with their offensive rebounds.

But there came a time when Leti Romero, exhausted, crossed her arms to ask for a change.

Turner came on, who does not have the ability of her teammate to lead the game, and Valencia Basket began to falter. Çukurova smelled blood and launched herself at her rival. After trailing for eight minutes, she took control of the game. In the second quarter, Romero committed her second personal foul too early, Rubén Burgos sent her to the bench and the Turkish team lived its best moments. Unlike in Valencia, Çukurova was very successful in outside shooting (6/11 in three-pointers) and began to reduce the difference (37-25).

Valencia needed to react and that's where the experience of Alina Iagupova, a 33-year-old forward and former Çukurova player, emerged, scoring seven points in a row to quell the Turkish rebellion, led by one of the best centers in the Euroleague, Natasha Howard, who fought an intense battle with Kayla Alexander.

The clock was ticking against Çukurova, who had a long way to go if she wanted to reach the Euroleague semi-finals, so she relied on three-pointers. She did not do badly. Her accuracy was very high (she was 11/16 on the three-pointer at one point), but Valencia did not suffer from that first burst of momentum thanks to Leo Fiebich, a player who responded with three-pointers, causing damage in the paint and with a providential recovery. Ahmet Kandemir's team pushed the accelerator to the limit, but looked in the rear-view mirror and did not lose sight of Valencia.

Then came the final quarter and the anxiety of seeing themselves so close made the Spanish team tremble. Çukurova went all out and thanks to the success of the French Marine Johannes (21 points) and the Galician María Araujo (16), they even saw themselves with some chance when they reached a 22-point lead. But the lead was too generous to stay out of the semi-finals and Valencia managed to keep their rival at bay.