Radebeau crushes Valencia and takes UCAM to a historic semi-final

Jonah Radebeau’s furious appearance in the last quarter with fifteen points almost in a row knocked down Valencia Basket, his former team, this Saturday and led UCAM Murcia to the first ever semi-final in the ACB, a reward for a fragile team but with talent and with unbreakable faith into the tactical plan of his coach Sito Alonso.

The locals dominated the match midway through two quarters and had a seven-point lead midway through the third quarter, but were unable to finish, largely due to the resistance of Rondion Kurucs. They then paid dearly for a two-minute defensive lapse that sent Radebaugh, who had scored just five points in the first three quarters, into a trance and sent him to the canvas from which he no longer knew how to escape. up.

On impact it took a few minutes to gain speed, but then it accelerated to full speed. Dylan Ennis and Dustin Left eased UCAM Murcia’s problems distributing the ball under local pressure with their long shots, and Valencia put themselves in the hands of an inspired Stefan Jovic, who took advantage of Brandon Davis and Jaime at the rim. Pradilla (21-21, m.7).

Once the game started, both coaches began their rotation, and with them came Justin Anderson’s time. The American forward, at times thoughtless but always fearless, made three triples out of three attempts in three minutes and finished off Lafontette.

Slightly tilting the balance to the side (27-26, m.10), throw. But neither of the two turns changed the situation, the tactical pitfalls that marked the first two encounters of the series seemed to be amortized.

Valencia considered the option of the dizzying Jared Harper, because Chris Jones, although he was on the court, was tough, but he also did not change the script. Sito Alonso received a technical for protesting, but his team, without losing concentration, knew how to find a calm Moussa Diagne to stay close (44-43, m.20).

Jovic’s third foul and Leva’s basket at the buzzer threatened to spoil Valencia’s return to the court, but then Davis reappeared. Two threes and an interception, which ended with a dunk on the counterattack, not only allowed the locals to avoid an unpleasant moment, but also opened the largest gap in the game (55-48, m.24).

At the other basket, Rodions Kurucs struggled to keep his team afloat. He first stopped the bleeding with a pair of 3-pointers and then closed the wound from the free throw line. When he sat down to rest, Murcia’s gap was again two points.

Before that, low-key former Tharonja Jonah Rabo starred early in the fourth quarter. After scoring seven points almost in a row, he punished Harper for his defensive mistakes and turned the score and mood around (65-70, m.32). Especially when he and the solvent Saint-Ross began to link up with the hardworking Yiannis Morin.

Valencia’s moral strength was then put to the test by the complexity of Jovic’s fourth foul. The Taronha team succumbed to the rush, and the new triple by Radebaugh put them on the ropes (71-81, m.36).

Albert couldn’t find a way to calm his team down or even slow down the passage of time. With Jones and Ojeli very depleted, Davis attempted to take charge, but individual decisions were dashed by Murcia’s solvency, which now threatened Unicaja.

Data sheet

Valencia Basket-UCAM Murcia, 77-84

77.- Valencia (27+17+19+14): Jovic (4), Lopez-Arostegui (4), Ojeleye (9), Pradilla (5), Davis (23) – starting five – Jones (4) , Harper (4), Puerto (2), Anderson (15), Claver (-) and Inglis (7).

84.- UCAM Murcia (26+17+18+23): Ennis (13), Kapin (2), Kuruc (12), Sleeva (12), Diagne (9) – starting five – Saint-Ross (4), Radovic (2), Radebeau (20), Hakason (-) and Morin (10).

Judges: Perez Pizarro, Caballero and Serrano. No exceptions.

Incidents: The third and final match of the ACB quarter-finals, played at La Fonteta in front of 7,582 spectators.