Valencia Basket champions in Spain: blow to Barça away

The summit of Spanish basketball belongs to Valencia Basket. Beating Barça 108-84 at their home in Game 4 of the Liga Endesa final series, Valencia closed the series 3-1 to reach their second Liga Endesa title in history. The taronja (orange) side lifted the trophy without needing a fifth game thanks to this emphatic away win.

The fate of the game was decided by a 0-12 run in the second quarter. Leading the first quarter 26-22, Valencia tightened up in defence in the second period and, with the upper hand on the boards, pulled clear to go in 47-35 up at the break. Pedro Martínez's side produced 35 points in the third quarter to take full control of the game and, holding their advantage in the closing stretch, claimed the win.

For Valencia, two names carried the attack: point guard Jean Montero with 23 points and forward Kameron Taylor with a 21-point contribution led their team. Braxton Key chipped in 12 and Trevion Williams-Moore 19. For Barça, Kevin Punter stood out with 26 and Tornike Shengelia with 15; but Punter's burst, after being quiet in the first two games, was not enough to prevent defeat. Against a clearly superior Valencia across the series, Barça could not use their home advantage.

This title was the peak of the best season in the club's history. Valencia Basket had also won the Supercopa Endesa this season and reached the EuroLeague semi-finals. This success under Pedro Martínez, who delivered the club's first league title in 2017, was crowned with a fearless, fluid brand of basketball. Coming on top of their Supercopa and European achievements across the season, the league title marks a historic landmark for the club

Image: Valencia X account