Regular Season Game 2 - November 02, 2006 CET: 00:00 Local time: 00:00 - PALACIO DE LOS DEPORTES J.M. MARTIN CARPENA

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-0 Regular Season 0-0
0-1 Overall 0-1

Referees

Crew Chief
KOUKOULEKIDIS, STELIOS, Greece
Referee
BACHAR, SHMUEL, Israel
Umpire
SAHIN, TOLGA, Italy

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
101.0 Points 79.0
37.0 Rebounds 33.0
9.0 O. Rebounds 9.0
28.0 D. Rebounds 24.0
13.0 Assists 13.0
6.0 Steals 8.0
6.0 Blocks 4.0
14.0 Turnovers 26.0
58.3 % 2PT 56.4 %
44.4 % 3PT 57.1 %
76.7 % FT 68.8 %
111.0 Index 81.0

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
32.0 / Cabezas Points 21.0 / BENNETT, E.
9.0 / Pietrus Rebounds 7.0 / GAINES, CHARLES
2.0 / JIMENEZ, CARLOS OR 3.0 / BETTS, ANDREW
7.0 / Pietrus DR 5.0 / GAINES, CHARLES
6.0 / Cabezas Assists 3.0 / Fernandez
1.0 / JIMENEZ, CARLOS Steals 3.0 / RUBIO, RICARD
4.0 / Pietrus Blocks 1.0 / BETTS, ANDREW
4.0 / SANTIAGO, DANIEL Turnovers 5.0 / Fernandez
100.0 % / Vasileiadis 2PT 100.0 % / BENNETT, E.
66.7 % / Cabezas 3PT 100.0 % / BENNETT, E.
100.0 % / Cabezas FT 100.0 % / Huertas
41.0 / Cabezas Index 22.0 / BENNETT, E.

THE TAKE

One of the two Spanish teams in Group B will join the win column on Thursday when Unicaja and DKV Joventut meet in Malaga. It marks a first confrontation at the Euroleague level for two teams who know each other well from domestic play. In fact, Unicaja aces Carlos Cabezas and Berni Rodriguez were recent teammates of Joventut star Rudy Fernandez on the 2006 World Championship gold medal team from Spain. Cabezas kept up his good form by scoring 32 points as a substitute and earning Week 1 MVP honors even though Unicaja lost its opener in overtime 106-100 last week at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, Joventut squandered a 24-point lead in its Euroleague debut, falling at home to mighty Panathinaikos 79-82. A pair of veterans, point guard Elmer Bennett and center Andrew Betts, led Joventut in that game with 21 and 15 points, respectively, while Fernandez had 14 off the bench. Familiarity will probably benefit Joventut in its second game, but Unicaja has proven to be an historically tough opponent at home no matter the opponent. The hosts have plenty of firepower, too, especially on the perimeter, where Rodriguez, Jiri Welsch and Kostas Vasiliadis added a combined 46 points in Tel Aviv. Unicaja is still hoping that center Daniel Santiago gets on form, and might need him a lot against Betts, Charles Gaines and Robert Archibald of Joventut on Thursday. Likewise, Benett will need support from Lubos Barton, Paco Vazques and Ricky Rubio to help stop Joventut's outside game. Whichever of these teams can stop the other's main scoring strengths will be on its way to a first Group B victory of the season.

Quotes Head Coaches

SCARIOLO, SERGIO
Unicaja
"It's a little bit of an unusual game, like any at the international level between teams that play the same national league. These are teams that, on one hand, know each other well, but on the other, have to be smart enough to understand the differences that exist in some aspects between the domestic game and the Euroleague game. The two teams have come out strong and brave in their first Euroleague games against the group favorites, Maccabi and Panathinaikos, and will surely go with all their pride and energy for a first victory this week. Both teams are known in recent years precisely for their intense and sometimes spectacular playing styles."
GARCIA RENESES, AITO
DKV Joventut
"We face this game with some difficulties, as our big men have physical problems and the team lost its two last games. We also know that Unicaja has started to play well. Speaking on injuries, Robert Archibald did not train and Andy Betts is not going to practice today, either, and that is an extra problem we are facing. About Unicaja, bringing Santiago back has balanced their game. Cabezas is in great shape and their overall game has increased a lot since pre-season."

Players

LORBEK, ERAZEM
Unicaja
"We're playing against a very tough team. Each knows perfectly how the other plays and we are used to playing each other since we did so in the preseason Supercup in Spain. I also know that their playoff in the semifinals of the Spanish League last year was very intense. The defende of DKV Joventut is always strong and intense, so we have to match them in terms of defensive tone in order to be able to take the victory. They are a great unit, but I think that we have to pay special attention to Elmer Bennett, who likes to take the ball in the important moments."
BENNETT, ELMER
DKV Joventut
"Is is a game against a team which has been playing really well, and we have to change some things we did wrong in the last two games. This is a very important game for us. Everyone knows that Euroleague games are very difficult, at home or on the road, and this is the kind of game in which we have to do things well and arrive in Malaga with the ambition to play up to our limits. Unicaja is a winning team now, have experienced players and is a very deep team, so you cannot concentrate in just one player. They played outstanding defense in their last Spanish League game, as they just allowed a team like Gran Canaria to score 45 points in their own court. That's why we have to be focused on playing our best basketball."
Rudy Fernandez - DKV Joventut Rudy Fernandez's high-flying, buzzer-beating heroics gave DKV Joventut Badalona the win in the Spanish duel of Group B, topping Unicaja 66-68 on the road in Malaga. The game was tied at 66-66 and seemed heading for overtime when Pepe Sanchez was called for traveling as time was about to expire. Then, with one tenth of a second left, Lubos Barton threw the ball in bounds to Fernandez, who flew in and tipped the ball into the basket as the buzzer sounded, giving Joventut its first win in the Euroleague in 12 years. The win saw Joventut improve to 1-1 , while Unicaja falls to 0-2. Fernandez, who drilled three triples in the last period, finished with a game-high 20 points. Barton added 13, Elmer Bennett 12 and Marcelinho Huertas 11 for Joventut. Berni Rodriguez led Unicaja with 15 points, Jiri Welsch posted 13 and Sanchez added 10.

Both teams struggled to score early until Charles Gaines put Joventut on the board with a jump hook. Daniel Santiago answered wit a power basket in the low post and added free throws to give Unicaja its first lead, 4-3. Aggressive defenses saw both teams commit many fouls and enter the foul bonus before the halfway mark in the period. Welsch stepped up with a layup, but free throws from Fernandez tied the game at 6-6. Rodriguez came through with a second-chance layup before Bennett went one step further with a three-pointer to put Joventut briefly ahead. Welsch answered from downtown, but Bennett nailed a five-meter shot to tie it again, 11-11. Unicaja tried zone defense, which Drew Sullivan beat with a short jumper. Rodriguez made free throws, but Joventut had finally adjusted its defense now with its second unit on the floor. A technical foul on Unicaja coach Sergio Scariolo allowed Huertas to follow free throws with a jumper and give Joventut a 15-19 lead after 10 minutes.

Daniel Santiago and Charles Gaines - DKV Joventut, UnicajaBennett hit a running jumper to keep Joventut in charge early in the second quarter. Unicaja struggled to score, while Bennett took over with another jumper, good for a 16-23 lead. Welsch scored in transition as the hosts managed to be more aggressive on defense. Meanwhile, Florent Pietrus stepped up with a layup to get Unicaja within 20-23. Paco Vazquez drew a foul and calmly made free throws, which Santiago erased with a jump hook. Carlos Cabezas stole the ball at midcourt and scored in a backdoor situation to tie the game, 25-25. DKV was forced to take off-balanced long shots on nearly every offense until Sullivan fed Lubos Barton for a power layup. Cabezas drew Huertas's fourth foul and hit free throws, but Fernandez answered with back-to-back three-pointers from the left side to keep Joventut ahead, 29-33, at halftime. Joventut looked inside for Betts to start the second half, but Welsch's triple closed the gap to 32-35. Barton stepped up with 7 straight points to push Joventut to a 10-point lead. Sanchez scored his first points with a three, but Joventut's defensive efforts paid off when Santiago was called for traveling later. The defenses continued to improve, forcing mistakes and turnovers until Sanchez scored again in transition to make it 38-44. Unicaja started to run faster, and Joventut struggled to score against the hosts' zone, until Bennett hit a four-meter jumper to get the guests going. A Sanchez layup and a triple by Kostas Vasiliadis made it 45-46 with the crowd pushing hard from the stands. Rodriguez added a triple at the buzzer to end the period with the hosts on top 48-46, capping a 16-4 run.

Unicaja was on fire with Vasiliadis leading the way, but Barton fired in a three to rescue Joventut. The visitors' hit a rut and Unicaja found the way to the basket almost every time. The game started to go back and forth fast as Huertas and Fernandez blasted triples for Joventut and Vasiliadis the same as the scoreboard showed 62-56. Fernandez hit another bomb for the guests to make it even closer, as Joventut's zone was now keeping Unicaja quiet. Huertas finished a fastbreak to make it 62-61 with two minutes to go. Two free throws by Jimenez weren't enough as Fernandez hit his third triple of the period to tie it at 64-64. The offensive rebounds allowed Unicaja to attack multiple times, but the ball wouldn't go in. Dmitri Flis finished a break to make it 64-66 with 50 seconds to go. Barton missed a shot and Welsch found the bottom of the net at the other end as Joventut coach Aito Garcia Reneses called a timeout with 17 seconds left and the game tied at 66-66. When it looked like the game would go into overtime, Sanchez was called for traveling and the ball went to Joventut with one tenth of a second left. Barton threw the ball in bounds and Fernandez flew in to tip the ball into the rim as the buzzer sounded and Joventut celebrated its first Euroleague win in 12 years.
Referees: KOUKOULEKIDIS, STELIOS (GRE), BACHAR, SHMUEL (ISR), SAHIN, TOLGA (ITA)
Attendance: 8100
By Quarter1234
Unicaja15141918
DKV Joventut19141322
End of Quarter1234
Unicaja15294866
DKV Joventut19334668
Head coach: SCARIOLO, SERGIO
Unicaja
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 SANCHEZ, PEPE 29:00 10 2/4 1/4 3/4   4 4 6 2 3   1 3 3 12
5 RODRIGUEZ, BERNI 34:00 15 3/5 2/5 3/4 1 3 4 3         2 2 16
7 VASILEIADIS, KOSTAS 17:45 8 1/1 2/2     3 3 1 1 1     4 1 9
8 CHYLINSKI, MICHAL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 WELSCH, JIRI 25:00 13 3/10 2/3 1/2                   1 5
10 CABEZAS, CARLOS 11:00 6 1/1 0/2 4/5   1 1 1 1 2       4 8
11 PIETRUS, FLORENT 16:00 2 1/1 0/1   1 2 3   1 2     1   2
15 DE MIGUEL, IGNACIO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 JIMENEZ, CARLOS 23:00 4 1/1 0/2 2/2 1 6 7   1 1     4 2 7
21 LORBEK, ERAZEM 12:00     0/1     3 3               2
22 SANCHEZ, ALFONSO 3:15                           1 1
25 SANTIAGO, DANIEL 29:00 8 2/5   4/6   6 6 2 2 4     1 7 15
Team                     1     1   -2
Totals 200:00 66 14/28 7/20 17/23 3 28 31 13 8 14 0 1 16 21 75
50% 35% 73.9%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: GARCIA RENESES, AITO
DKV Joventut
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 HUERTAS, MARCELINHO 16:15 11 2/6 1/3 4/4       2 1 3     4 1 2
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 28:15 20 1/4 5/9 3/4   3 3     2     2 6 17
6 BENNETT, ELMER 23:45 12 4/7 1/4 1/5   2 2 2 1       1 3 9
9 VAZQUEZ, PACO 11:45 2     2/2   2 2   1 1     2 2 4
11 BARTON, LUBOS 31:15 13 3/5 2/6 1/2   4 4 4 3 2     4 1 12
15 SULLIVAN, ANDREW 24:15 4 2/3 0/2   2 2 4 1     1   2   5
18 LAVIÑA, FERRAN 8:45   0/2 0/1                     1 -2
20 FLIS, DIMITRI 13:15 2 1/1 0/1   1 2 3           2   2
32 RUBIO, RICKY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
41 GAINES, CHARLES 26:45 2 1/5     2 6 8 2 1 3     1 1 6
51 BETTS, ANDY 15:45 2 1/2     1 3 4 1   1     3   2
Team           3   3   2           5
Totals 200:00 68 15/35 9/26 11/17 9 24 33 12 9 12 1 0 21 15 62
42.9% 34.6% 64.7%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

SCARIOLO, SERGIO
Unicaja
"It was a great game. It was ironically solved with a great play with a little luck. In the final moments we were little aggressive against their zone defense, but I think we are getting better as games go by. Our defense had been warned about the final play, but then you have to make it on the court. The fact that Barton could pass the ball over Jimenez, and that Rudy could fly over such a great jumper as Pietrus tells us about the merit of the play. It has to give us experience for the future."
GARCIA RENESES, AITO
DKV Joventut
"We started with a lot of respect for Unicaja, because they are a great team. We did fine until they turned to a zone defense, then we did not work and they managed to come back. When we turned to a zone defense also, it was their turn to struggle, and we got to a close end. We normally practice that final play but tonight it turned out better than ever."

Players

SANTIAGO, DANIEL
Unicaja
"It was a balanced game, but they were better in the last moments, they shot better. We lacked concentration in the final play. Rudy is a great athlete and in the last moment we knew that was going to be the only way they would be able to score those points. And they did it and we just didn't work. We have to be smarter in the future."
FERNANDEZ, RUDY
DKV Joventut
"The win was really tough, but we managed to take the game with us in the end, in which we were a little lucky. We have practiced that play sometimes and tonight it just worked, which is a good thing for us."
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