Valencia advances to face Real Madrid in ACB final

The stage is set for what should be an exciting Spanish ACB final. Valencia Basket defeated Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz in Game 4 85-77, and advance to the Liga Endesa finals where they will play against the waiting Real Madrid. Both clubs will lock horns on June 9th for Game 1 of the Championship deciding series and fans of Spanish hoops will be treated to some amazing basketball.

Valencia got a huge game from Fernando San-Emeterio, who literally did not miss a single shot in his team-high 30 minutes on the floor. He ended the game with 19 points, four assists, and two steals. Antoine Diot did an excellent game in finding San-Emeterio as he recorded 10 assists, for the game.  Both players anchored Valencia’s offense as it got going early on. Baskonia fought back after the halftime break and won the third quarter. Unfortunately, despite a spirited defensive effort from the Baskonian squad, Valencia still managed to find ways to score. Even as the blue and red shirts cut into the lead, the men in orange did enough in the fourth and final period to hold on for the win.

Shane Larking was the top scorer for Baskonia with 19 points. Ricky Ledo chipped in 17 points and five assists to help out.

The road to the finals has not been an easy one for Valencia Basket. They had to down FC Barcelona Lassa in the quarter-finals, then had to dispatch with Baskonia, which was no pushover as well. They move on to face arguably their toughest opponent yet, in Real Madrid. The Spanish and European powerhouse is the favored team to win the title, however, Valencia will do their best to bring home that highly coveted trophy.