Valencia force Barcelona to first away ACB loss, spoil Jasikevicius' birthday / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Juan Carlos GarcíA Mate/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire Credit Juan Carlos GarcíA Mate/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire

Valencia Basket (13-7) started off slow, but geared up in the second half to force FC Barcelona (15-4) to their first road defeat in the Spanish ACB League this season by 86-76 (21-21, 19-21, 24-19, 22-15).

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Until tonight's game, Barca had only suffered home losses in the Spanish league, to valencia Basket, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and Manresa. Valencia snapped a 12-game winning streak that the Catalan side boasted across all competitions.

Real Madrid are leading the pack with 17-4 and two games more than their main rivals.

Although Barcelona were leading 42-40 in the first half, but Valencia managed to stay close before making their decisive push in the final stretch.

For 30 minutes, the contest at La Fonteta of Valencia was tight, until the hosts started the fourth quarter with a 9-1 spurt, which allowed them to gain a double-digit lead for the first time. Barcelona cut down the deficit to 6 points, but the response was again provided by Joan Penarroya's men, which piled up a 12-point edge and captured a valuable win.Nenad Dimitrijevic scored 16 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 7 assists for a PIR of 20. Mike Tobey was the winners' leading scorer with 15 points, including the crucial three-point shot which made it 82-70 for Valencia.

Barcelona, on the other hand, ran out of steam in the final 12 minutes, as only Nikola Mirotic stood out offensively. The Montenegrin finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds, which didn't make the difference for coach Sarunas Jasikevicius.

On his 46th birthday, the Lithuanian coach missed out on the chance to celebrate a win that could have significantly increased Barca's chances of capturing first place in the ACB regular season.

Saras was infuriated with his players at some point in the third quarter, expressing his complaints during a time out.

Valencia Basket: Mike Tobey 15 (6/9 FG, 5 REB, 4 AST), Nenad Dimitrijevic 14 (4/8 FG, 6/6 FT, 7 REB, 6 AST), Jasiel Rivero 14 (4/6 FG, 6/10 FT, 4 REB), Jaime Pradilla 11 (4/6 FG, 4 REB).

FC Barcelona: Nikola Mirotic 14 (4/8 FG, 3/5 FT, 5 REB), Brandon Davies 11 (5/9 FG, 1/2 FT, 3 REB), Dante Exum 11 (4/7 FG), Nicolas Laprovittola 9, Nick Calathes 4 (8 AST).

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