1. Bulfoni, LEO 100 2. Kus, UNI 95.92 3. Fernandez, DKV 93.75
Ranking
1. Gasol, GIR 26.3 2. Fernandez, DKV 25.1 3. Splitter, TAU 17,4 4. Triguero, PWM 16.7 5. Rubio, DKV 16,5
Spain won silver at EuroBasket 2007
(Photo: FIBA)
MVP Rudy Inspires DKV Joventut to Copa Del Rey Glory
COPA DEL
REY FINAL:
10.02.07 TAU CERAMICA 80 DKV JOVENTUT 82
A sublime 32 point performance by MVP
Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) resulted in DKV Joventut
being crowned as 2007/08 Copa Del Rey Champions after
beating Tau Ceramica on their home-court.
Both teams started the Copa final with their form
players with the exception of Mallet for Joventut as
Badalona went with Rubio, Rudy, Lavina, Sonseca and
Jagla while Tau were favouring Prigioni, Rakocevic,
Teletovic, Mickeal and Splitter.
Rakocevic scored the first points of the Copa while
Jagla opened Badalona's account with a three, continuing
from where he left off in the semi-finals before fouling
out. He then repeated the trick with a little help off
the backboard from further out before the impressive big
man Sonseca handed the Catalan club an 8-2 lead inside
four minutes.
Jagla was back in the action within seconds after a big
foul on Tiago Splitter who went up for a strong dunk but
just failed to convert.
Tau were looking to get Prigioni to penetrate and twice
he gave up a look at the basket on his way to the hoop
to dish the ball back outside and on the second occasion
he found Rakocevic to nail a three and get the Baskonia
fans off their seats for the first time since the tip.
The first main change in the game came when the
ineffective Teletovic was withdrawn for Muoneke but Tau
still had a slow start and found offence a problem as
they had in the semi-final having only six points in the
first seven minutes against 11 from DKV.
Their cause was helped when Fernandez was called for a
travel and then a foul in quick succession and the home
team went on to score the next four points with two
free-throws from Mickeal and a tremendous cut to the
hoop by Prigioni as the shot clock ebbed away.
Mickeal then handed Tau the lead with 90 seconds to play
and amid a cacophony of boos and jeers, a tip-in from
Fernandez swung it back to Penya.
The crowd really got into the game in the dying stages
of the opening period after a mistake by the referee
looked to have let a Badalona turnover go unpunished but
the officials changed their minds and handed the ball to
Tau.
Some great interplay between Planinic and Splitter
allowed Muoneke to convert with a lay-up under the
basket in traffic and that gave Joventut the chance to
have the final shot of the quarter but Rudy turned the
ball over under some great defensive pressure from
Mickeal and Tau got the ball back with 5.3 seconds to go
but they too turned the ball over.
After looking sluggish at the start, Coach Spahija
looked pleased with the 8-2 run in the last three
minutes and coming out for the second quarter, Tau were
definitely a team in the ascendancy and the powerful
direct approach of Mickeal again reaped rewards as he
was fouled inside and converted both the basket and
bonus point.
Muoneke drilled a three in between two unsuccessful
perimeter efforts by Badalona who looked a little tired
after the previous nights work against Madrid and the
six early turnovers were evident also of this.
A tough move by Rubio that ended in a fade away shot
drew gasps from the crowd before McDonald produced a
nice spin move to respond for Tau. They continued to
look for him inside while Badalona began to rely far too
much on perimeter shooting which began to let them down
with a series of open looks rimming out to the agony of
the Penya fans trying to make themselves heard against
the partisan home support.
After his poor showing in the semi-final McDonald was
really making up for it with a great hustle rebound and
put back to put Tau 25-16 ahead with four minutes to go
until the half.
It was already looking like a game too far for Joventut
and they would have to really get something special from
the quiet Fernandez if they were to have any chance of
combating the passion of the Basque fans whose energy
was clearly lifting the players.
A Prigioni three-pointer right in the corner looked to
have put a real dagger into Badalona hearts with a first
double-figure lead but an unsportsmanlike foul by
Baskonia gave the ice cool Sonseca the chance to convert
two free-throws and for Fernandez to score with a nice
little floating shot after wisely giving up the chance
of a three to drive towards the hoop.
Happy minutes earlier the home crowd were then incensed
and the chants of anger were directed at the match
officials after an offensive foul on their side followed
by a missed tra vel and the ball being handed to
Badalona for Rudy to score their sixth point in a row.
The anger felt by Tau was perhaps then behind the
decision of McDonald to go baseline and slam down an
aggressive dunk but a technical foul on Mickeal, his
third of the game for abusing the referee handed DKV the
chance of four free-throws plus the ball with Rudy
making them pay by scoring all bonus points and then
repeating his sweet floating shot from moments earlier.
It was to prove to be a real error by Mickeal in the
context of the game.
The six points in 15 seconds put a whole new reflection
on the game at 30-28 and Tau began to feel some pressure
for the first time with Teletovic turning the ball over.
Just when Rudy looked like talking over, the referee
bravely called a carry and a time-out left Tau with the
ball and a minute until the halfway break.
The force was back in the hands of Badalona but
Teletovic was brave enough to try his hand at a
three-pointer having turned the ball over on the
previous offence and fortune favoured him. It was
certainly the case that the referees seemed to be
favouring Joventut and another call on the final
possession had the Tau fans purple with rage.
Mallet scored a lay-up on the buzzer to ensure his side
went in only 33-30 behind and despite their team being
ahead, Tau were running off court with Badalona with
several objects being hurled onto the court amidst
intense whistling and jeering towards the three men in
orange.
The second half started with Mallet at the point for
Joventut instead of Rubio and Fernandez struck a three
to tie the game up immediately . After a Splitter tip
rebound, the faith shown by Reneses in Mallet was proven
as he scored again with some great penetration.
A 6-0 Tau burst inspired by Splitter was broken by a
Mallet three-pointer but instantly Tau were off an
running with the Badalona point guard on his backside
for a quick score by Rakocevic and bonus point.
The tempo of the game began to really pick up and Lavina
nailed a trey before two great moves through the lane by
Rakocevic and Rudy at each end. Fernandez then hit
Joventut's fourth three of the quarter to get within one
point of the hosts at 47-46.
Teletovic then hit a three from the corner after some
great ball movement by Tau only for Fernandez to reply
with a classy move. He saw a chink of light and opened
the door fully, slicing through the Tau defence to score
with an arching lay-up high off the glass.
Popopvic came from nowhere to complete two nice inside
moves either side of a strong Splitter post move while
Mickeal produced the rebound of the game up until that
point to also get the put back and send Tau 58-53 up.
Rubio then had the chance of the last possession of the
quarter only to turn it over off his own foot to give
Tau the ball. Incredibly Tau then spilled it themselves
and it was Rubio himself who made amends by scoring on
the buzzer to ensure a one shot game going into the
final ten minutes at 58-55.
The quarter started late after two successive court
invasions by individuals holding placards and making
political statements but they were given the bird by the
crowd who rightly jeered them off the court as they were
taken away by security personnel.
Fernandez continued in the final quarter where he left
off in the third when he scored ten points with another
three-pointer after two free-throws by Rakocevic.
The impressive Demond Mallet struck with a three-pointer
to narrow to 62-61 and then Rudy was fouled taking a
three pointer and went to the line to give Joventut the
lead for the first time in the second half.
Mallet who has been excellent in the tournament then
struck another three and got the visiting fans really
pumped up with their side four points ahead at 63-67 and
five minutes left in the game.
The pendulum appeared to be swinging towards Badalona
after a Popovic put back extended their lead but
Teletovic pulled out a three from the corner to ease the
pressure on Tau.
Sonseca then scored quickly inside but the final came
alive for Teletovic who drilled another three and then
after a rare Fernandez air-ball made an inside score for
eight successive points for him.
It gave Tau the lead again at 72-71 and a time out by
Coach Reneses with just over three minutes set up
another thrilling ending so typical of a terrific Copa
tournament. Jagla hit a three straight from the restart
and after Rakocevic free-throws it was 74-74. Rudy went
to the hoop and got a bucket after a goal tending call.
Tau turned the ball over and Rudy broke away to slam
down a dunk and spark chants of MVP from the DKV fans in
raptures with their side four points ahead at 78-74 and
just 90 seconds from a trophy.
But Teletovic was still feeling it big time and he hit
another three from the corner before both sides then
turned the ball over. Rubio went to the line with 28
seconds left and scored both to force a time out by Tau
80-77 behind.
Teletovic tried to nail another but this time his luck
had run out and Mallet ended up with the ball and back
on the line in front of the celebrating Badalona fans
who knew their time was about to arrive for some
deserved silverware.
And so it was as he nailed them both. Teletovic hit a
consolation three but the celebrations began with
Rudy Fernandez cutting down both nets ahead of his
MVP award.
Teletovic was top man for Tau but 32 points from
Fernandez told the whole story although 15 points from
Demond Mallet at times when the game was slipping away
should not be underestimated.
Real Madrid won ACB Championship 2007 (Photo: Real Madrid)
Felipe Reyes was MVP of the Play-Offs 2007 (Photo: Real Madrid)
Spanish men
teams in Euro cups 2006-2007
Euroleague:
DKV Joventut Badalona: took 3rd place (7-7) in Group B,
then took 4th place (1-5) in Group E of Top 16
Tau Ceramica Vitoria: took 1st place (12-2) in Group A,
then took 1st place (6-0) in Group D of Top 16, lost to
Panathinaikos 53-67 in the semifinals (!!!)
Unicaja Malaga: took 4th place (7-7) in Group B, then
took 1st place (4-2) in Group G of Top 16, lost to CSKA
Moscow 50-62 in the semifinals, beat Tau 76-74 for the 3rd
place (!!!)
Winterthur F.C. Barcelona: took 2nd place (9-5) in Group
C, then took 2nd place (4-2) in Group F of Top 16, lost to
Unicaja (ESP) in the Quarterfinals FIBA
EuroCup:
MMT Estudiantes Madrid: took 1st place (5-1) in Group A,
took 1st place (5-1) in Group I, lost to Akasvayu 58-89 in
the Semifinals (!!!)
Akasvayu Girona: took 1st place (6-0) in Group D, took
1st place (6-0) in Group L, beat Azovmash 79-72 in the Final
(!!!)
ULEB Cup:
Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas: took 4th place (5-5) in Group
A, lost to FMP (SRB) in the 1/8 Finals
Real Madrid: took 1st place (7-3) in Group D, beat in
the Final Lietuvos Rytas (LTU) 87-75 !!!
ACB Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1
Navarro, BAR 17.3
2 Scola, TAU 17.0
3 Fernández, DKV 16.3
4 Bullock, MAD 15.4
5 Rakocevic, TAU 15.4
Real Madrid wins ACB league !!!
Real Madrid 3 - Winterthur Barcelona 1 (69-62,
83-30, 70-75, 82-71)
It was not easy. In spite of the
good beginning of
Real Madrid, who stopped the main weapons of
Barcelona and avoided its mistakes of the last games and
the good second quarter, when they got leads near 20
points, Barcelona threatened with
Roko Leni Ukic (195-G-84),
Roger Grimau (196-G-79) and
Michalis Kakiouzis (206-C-76) as main references and
they almost came back. With two minutes remaining the
Ivanovic's squad was losing only by 4, but then
Raul Lopez (182-G-80) appeared to hit the three and
bring the calm and the euphory to
Real Madrid. They did it again, getting the title in
Barcelona's home, like in the last league won by the
team led by Djordjevic. With this victory (82-71),
Real closes a great season, with a superb beginning in
ACB, the title of Uleb Cup, the second position in
Spanish Cup and the ACB title.
Felipe Reyes (203-F/C-80) has been the MVP of the
Finals, and
Joan Plaza becomes one ot the three Coaches who have
won the title in his first year as Head Coach, after
Casimiro and Pesic.
Congratulations,
Real Madrid.
ACB Finals, Game 4: WFC Barcelona - Real Madrid
71-82 (22-27, 11-20, 17-17, 21-18)
Barca: Lakovic 15, Kakiouzis 11, Grimau 9, Trias 6,
Vazquez 6, Ukic 6, Navarro 5, Marconato 4, Kasun 4, De
La Fuente 3, Basile 2, DNP: Mancasi; Coach: Ivanovic
Real: Reyes 21, Tunceri 15, Bullock 12, Smith 10, Lopez
10, Hervelle 7, Sekulic 5, Mumbru 2, Hernandez-Sonseca
0, Tomas 0, Llull 0, DNP: Moiso; Coach: Plaza
Spanish Cup: Winterthur Barcelona won the trophy
Winterthur Barcelona got the first title in the
Dusko Ivanovic era. The Catalonia team trashed Real Madrid
thanks to their defense and the adding of two domestic players:
Jordi Trias (206-F-80) and
Roger Grimau (196-G-79), who led the team in the hard moments. First quarter, Where is Real Madrid?
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78) and
Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) started the game making a fast
and reliable play, scoring form beyond the arc and running a lot.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid was not in the game. Tehy were not able to
score and only got 5 pintos in the 10 first minutes. The score after
the quarter break was 5-21. Second quarter: Nobody scores
In the second quarter both two teams was blocked in the offensive
game, They was not able to break the defensees and went to the
locker run after a 10-10 run. Third quarter, a little hope for Real Madrid
Real Madrid got new energies in the half break and Joan Plaza was
able to make a little comeback outscoring 9-0 run. Then, the result
was 32-42 for several minutes, and in the last seconds Hervelle
reduced the gap to nine but Ukikc increasesd it with a buzzer
triple: 35-47. Fourth quarter: The Cup travels to Barcelona
It was not possible for Real Madrid, the team of
Dusko Ivanovic gaves no more chances and with
Juan Carlos Navarro in the bench and
Roger Grimau and Ukic playing important minutes the game
finished with a great difference in the scoreboard: 53-69.
Real Madrid: Bullock 15 points, Hervelle 13 rebounds, Smith 3 steals
Winterthur Barcelona:
Jaka Lakovic 16 points,
Roger Grimau 5 rebounds,
Jaka Lakovic 5 assits.
MVP of the Cup:
Jordi Trias with 10 points, 4 boards, 3 assists and 1 block in
the final game.
SuperCup: TAU wins the first Title
Unicaja
78 - TAU Baskonia 83 TAU showed his new play
style, with 10 players in the rotation, a lot of minutes
sharing and intensity during the 40 minutes. Prigioni and
Planinc had to play several minutes together, that was the
solution to avoid Unicaja's pressure. The green team had
problems to score, but the fought for every ball and were
better in rebounds. It was enough to overcome TAU's little
lead, even they domained in the scoreboard, but Prigioni
equalized before the half break with a three pointer. The
second half kept the equality till the last minutes. House,
who did his fourth foul soon, come into the court and scored
a three pointer which was the key to close the game. Unicaja
lost several balls and Rakocevic scored the free throws
which assured the victory of his team.
Tiago Splitter (211-C/F-85, agency:
Interperformanc
Euroleague
