By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Valencia, a two time Eurocup winner, and Unics Kazan, one of the favorites of the competition since the start of the season and 2011 Eurocup winner, will clash in the double final on the 1st of May at Valencia and then at the 7th of May at Kazan. It’s an intriguing match up with the winner getting also a place in next season’s Euroleague.
For Valencia, the semifinals proved to be a walk in the park. After getting the home win by nine points, Valencia destroyed on the road Nizhny Novgorod by 26 points (79-53). This is a result which can be considered even flattering for the host team, since the Spaniards had a 30 points lead (74-44) three minutes before the end of the game. The pressure was evident for Nizhny which had just 3/20 threes, compared to 11/22 by Valencia.
Unics had a much harder task, after losing the first game at Belgrade by 63-52. Crvena Zvezda even on the road started the game by getting a 23-20 lead after 12 minutes of action, but then the hosts took over. Led by Greek guard Nikos Zisis who had 26 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, Unics got the 84-67 win and the qualification to the finals because of the 17 points points differential.