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Joventut, ULEB Cup champ!
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| DKV Joventut is the 2007-08 ULEB Cup champion! Joventut
lifted its first ULEB Cup trophy by downing Akasvayu Girona 54-79
in the all-Spanish title game at Palavela in Turin, Italy on Sunday night.
Joventut had downed Pamesa Valencia and Galatasaray Cafe Crown this weekend
and along with the ULEB Cup title, the club got a spot in the 2008-09
Euroleague. Despite the loss, Akasvayu has locked a spot in the 2008-09
ULEB Cup by finishing second. Demond Mallet led the winners with 26 points
on 3-for-3 two-pointers and 6-for-8 triples. Rudy Fernandez added 13 points
and became the Final MVP, while Jerome Moiso had 10, 7 rebounds and 4
blocks - a new ULEB Cup final record - for Joventut. Ivan Radenovic had
26 points for Akasvayu, Arriel McDonald added 11 while Marc Gasol grabbed
10 rebounds. Joventut set ULEB Cup final records for less points allowed
- 54 - and biggest winning margin - 25. Aito Garcia Reneses won its fourth
different European club title, as he had previously won the Saporta Cup,
the Korac Cup and the FIBA EuroCup. He joins Dusan Ivkovic in a select
club of European club greats. Akasvayu led 12-2 early in the game but
Mallet and Fernandez brought Joventut within 21-16 after 10 minutes. Fernandez
stepped up with a go-ahead driving layup, 22-23, while Petar Popovic and
Ferran Laviña allowed Joventut to extend its margin to 27-34 at halftime.
Joventut kept shining in defense, while an unstoppable Fernandez allowed
his team to break the game open, 37-58, after 30 minutes, enough to seal
the outcome long before the final buzzer and allow their fans to celebrate
yet another European Club title! |
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THE HEAD COACH: AITO GARCIA RENESES
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An innovator from the moment he first headed a bench, DKV Joventut coach Aito Garcia Reneses has become so well known that even fans refer to him on a first-name basis. Whether by introducing deep player rotations to Spanish basketball or by guiding countless young talents to pro stardom, Aito's is famous for a thinking-man's style of coaching. He started at Circulo Catolico Badalona, reaching the Korac Cup semifinals in 1979, before coaching Joventut to the 1985 Spanish League finals. READ MORE |
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THE STAR: RUDY FERNANDEZ
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Family and basketball have always gone together for DKV Joventut superstar Rudy Fernandez. Both his parents had played for Joventut and family legend has it that Fernandez started to walk while chasing a basketball thrown by his older sister, Marta, herself an international star. Fernandez joined Joventut's youth program in Badalona early, and his full-time promotion to the club’s first team came in 2003-04. Within months, the teenager was named MVP of the Spanish King's Cup in a losing effort. READ MORE |
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MORE NEWS
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· Player Spotlight: Jan-Hendrick Jagla
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· Last 16, DKV Joventut vs. Khimki: Game Report
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· DKV Joventut: Draw Profile
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· DKV Joventut: Team Focus
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