After Barça drew first blood in Game 1 of the Finals, the stage was set for Game 2. The Taronja had no intention of heading to Barcelona down 0–2 in the series—even if they proved against Panathinaikos that they’re capable of climbing out of that kind of hole. This Game 2 clash at the Roig Arena was destined to be either a near-death sentence or a massive sigh of relief, depending on which way the pendulum swung.
First Quarter: 26–11
The home squad’s starting five featured Jean Montero, Brancou Badio, Kam Taylor, Braxton Key, and Neal Sako. Head coach Xavi Pascual countered with Kevin Punter, Juani Marcos, Will Clyburn, Toko Shengelia, and Youssoupha Fall. The game tipped off with heavy defensive intensity—a complete 180 from Game 1. Montero opened the scoring, followed by a pair of free throws from Badio. Despite the high energy, the pace was a slow, half-court grind. Three minutes in, the hosts were already up 6–0, prompting Barça to look to their bench: in came Tomáš Satoranský and Jan Vesely. The run extended to 11–0 before Pascual was forced to burn a timeout.
Vesely finally stopped the bleeding right out of the break. However, that illusion of Catalan defensive solidity vanished after just two stops. Barça eventually settled into their offense, looking sharper than their opponent but completely unable to chip away at Valencia’s 11-point cushion. Even Yankuba Sima got in on the action from beyond the arc; coming off a stellar Game 1, the big man set a high bar on the defensive end while chipping in on the scoreboard. At the buzzer, Montero gave Valencia their largest lead of the frame to close the quarter: 26–11.
Second Quarter: 45–38
Valencia Basket refused to blink. A red-hot Badio caught fire from deep to stifle an early Blaugrana push. Pascual was growing desperate; he checked Shengelia back into the game to try and stop the hemorrhaging, as Valencia was riding a 19–7 run that blew the game open to 35–18. Barça was left trying to swim upstream.
Nicolás Laprovittola knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to “just” 10 points at 36–26 with 3:17 left in the half. Valencia head coach Pedro Martínez called for time at the 2:30 mark; the Shengelia sub had worked magic, bringing Barça back within six at 37–31. With 44 seconds remaining, the undisputed main character of the series, Laprovittola, made it a five-point game: 43–38. The teams headed to the locker rooms at the half with the scoreboard reading 45–38.
Valencia Basket dominated Game 2 of the Spanish ACB Finals at the Roig Arena. Source: Miguel Ángel PoloThird Quarter: 75–52
Key opened the second-half scoring, coming out of the locker room with noticeably more juice than anyone else on the floor. The halftime break did Barça no favors; an “and-one” from Montero quickly stretched the lead to 50–38. After enduring a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought, Barça finally got back on the board courtesy of Shengelia. Even so, Sergio de Larrea kept twisting the knife, forcing Pascual to call yet another timeout down 55–40 just three minutes into the quarter. Key drilled another three, and Barça looked completely out on their feet.
Darío Brizuela tried to spark something from long range to get the deficit back under 20, but to no avail. The hosts were putting on an absolute clinic, keeping their foot on the gas right up to the third-quarter horn: 75–52. You could already feel the party starting in the Roig Arena stands. Barring a historic collapse, this Finals series was guaranteed to see at least two more games.
Fourth Quarter: 102–75
Barça was in total disarray. They were turning the ball over left and right, their body language was brutal, and Valencia Basket was feasting in transition, flirting with a 30-point blowout. The final stretch devolved into a wide-open track meet—pure garbage time for both squads. Highlighted by an ejection for Kevin Punter, the game wrapped up as a 102–75 runaway home victory, tying the Finals up at one game apiece.