ZARAGOZA (Spain) - There was joy for CIMSA CBK Mersin and heartache for Valencia Basket Club as the former collected a nail-biting and dramatic 68-66 success to set themselves up for Sunday's Final against ZVVZ USK Praha.
Valencia had the opportunity to force overtime or even win the play with the last possession but didn;t manage to execute and failed to get a shot off. They will play Fenerbahce Opet in the Third Place Game.
Turning point
Valencia Basket Club were down by 11 points and erased the deficit and looked like they were primed to take a comeback victory. With Mersin on the ropes and Bridget Carleton a near stone-cold 1 of 8 from downtown, the Canadian got her team back on track and rolling again with a massive triple to tie the game up at 64-64 with two minutes to play. That was vital.
Game heroes
Mersin forward Natasha Howard provided the platform for her team with plenty of early work that culminated in 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Meanwhile Yvonne Anderson used all of her know-how in crunch time as the veteran made the clutch bucket with 12 seconds left that sealed the deal.
Stats don't lie
Mersin scored a massive 40 points in the paint and that was double what Valencia were able to manage.
Bottom line
Mersin always looked most likely to advance and so it proved - although they made hard work of it, having had the game under control until the last period. But when tested, they responded again and thanks to some big shots and plays in the closing minutes, they could now be on the verge of a first-ever title.
Valencia Basket will probably be disappointed with not only a narrow loss, but the fact they never really clicked into gear until the last quarter. They briefly breathed some fire but missed their opportunity. Despite key absences with Kristine Vitola and Queralt Casas both unavailable, they showed a lot of heart coming back from double-digits, even having the chance to win by having the last play of the contest - but they just couldn't get it done.
They said
"I am sure it was a great game to watch. Hats of to Valencia as they played an amazing game. They are a great team. It was a game of runs and we are happy we came out on top. It's exciting for me as I have not been with the team for a while so it's nice to be back again. Playing in a Final is special." CIMSA CBK Mersin guard Karlie Samuelson
"We had a good mentality and followed the game plan. We knew we were playing a very good team with a roster with many stars. But we trusted each other and we had our chances. We did not find a good opportunity with the last shot. We are not happy, but we are proud. Congratulations Mersin as they played brave against us." Valencia head coach Ruben Burgos
FIBA