It wasn't to be. Barça left everything on the floor at the Palau, but Valencia Basket were crowned Liga ACB champions (84–108). Xavi Pascual's side gave absolutely everything and finished exhausted, but it wasn't enough.

Punter steps up

The blaugrana took to the court with a clear plan: limit the threat posed by Montero, with Clyburn tasked with preventing the ball from reaching him. Although that strategy worked, Valencia began to dominate inside the paint, while Kevin Punter emerged as Barça's main attacking force. Quiet in the opening games of the series, the Barça guard scored 12 points in the first quarter, including three three-pointers, supported by the tireless Shengelia.

Poor second quarter

Between them, Punter and Shengelia accounted for 19 of Barça's 23 points in a closely contested opening quarter (23–26). The second period, however, began to swing decisively in Valencia's favour. A 0–12 run put the visitors 30–43 ahead, leaving Barça chasing the game. Clyburn halted the run with a three-pointer, but the hosts still trailed by 12 at half-time (35–47). No team had ever recovered from such a deficit at the break in an ACB Finals game, and it would have required an almost perfect second half.

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The start after the interval was far from what Barça needed. With Montero finding his rhythm from long range, Valencia stretched the lead to what seemed a decisive margin (44–62). Yet Barça refused to give up. Led once again by Punter, who hit three almost consecutive three-pointers, they cut the gap to eight points, but it was not enough. Valencia's scoring was far more balanced, allowing them to keep Barça's comeback attempt under control.

Defeated

And when the opportunity came, Valencia finished the job. The final quarter began with a daunting 64–82 scoreline, and the minutes gradually ticked away towards the end of both the game and the league campaign. Valencia never eased off, but the Palau's attention turned from the match itself to paying a final tribute to Jan Veselý.

It has been a very difficult season, one that ended with the team fighting until the very end and going as far as their remaining energy would take them.

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    MATCH STATS

    Barça: 84
    Valencia Basket: 108

    Barça: Satoransky (3), Punter (26), Clyburn (6), Shengelia (15), Vesely (12), Juani Marcos (-), Cale (0), Brizuela (2), Hernangómez (0), Fall (-), Laprovittola (10), Parra (10).

    Valencia Basket: Montero (23), Badio (6), Taylor (21), Key (12), Sako (5), Puerto (-), Reuvers (2), Pradilla (6), De Larrea (4), Moore (19), Cárdenas (7), Costello (3).

    Periods: 23-26, 12-21, 29-35, 20-26.

    Referees: Antonio Conde, Martín Caballero & Alfonso Olivares.

    Força Barça