Casademont Zaragoza Will Fight for Title Against Valencia BC With Home-Court Advantage

Casademont Zaragoza will battle for the title with home-court advantage after defeating Perfumerías Avenida in a tight semifinal series that Arnau Farreres' team managed to clinch with their fans' support. In the final series, they will pursue their first league title against defending champion Valencia Basket, who will defend their crown after securing their first-game advantage with a draw at Fontajau.

Casademont Zaragoza secured the first ticket to the LF Endesa Final on Sunday morning with a victory at Príncipe Felipe, overcoming the +2 deficit from Perfumerías Avenida in the first game. The first question was answered before learning who would be their opponent—Valencia Basket, who drew at Fontajau to secure their ticket.

It was far from an easy match for Casademont Zaragoza, who had to suffer just as they did throughout the series. Perfumerías Avenida arrived at Príncipe Felipe ready to take the initiative with two three-pointers in the opening moments, a success that did not intimidate the home team, which took the court with great ambition to dominate the paint and go ahead on the scoreboard by the end of the first quarter (19-10). Iyana Martín took control from the point guard position while Andrea Vilaró made an impact from beyond the arc, assuming significant playing time for Perfumerías Avenida, who began to feel comfortable in the game as the second quarter started and closed the gap once again from long distance. This time, thanks to Spreafico, who reduced the deficit before heading to the locker room (35-28).

Twenty minutes remained and good feelings seemed to accompany Casademont Zaragoza, but once again, Perfumerías Avenida put everything on the court after halftime in search of a comeback. A bold attempt that would come once more from Iyana Martín, very loose in offensive duties, and Helena Oma would respond with a great third quarter in which Nadia Fingall's support on the boards would be decisive. Perfumerías Avenida closed in again in the final quarter and, once more with a red response, first with Mariona Ortiz's stellar direction controlling the game's tempo and distributing the ball among her teammates, and later with Helena Oma closing out the game with a great three-pointer to secure the final ticket while awaiting their opponent (67-56).

Hours later, the competition witnessed one of the best matches of the season on Fontajau's court. Because on their floor, both Spar Girona and Valencia Basket would play a great game in which both alternated control of the scoreboard to fight hard for a ticket that would turn orange in the final stretch of the game. And this despite the fact that for a good number of minutes, the Girona team would strongly pursue its conquest, with a solid start to the game and the first leads in a clash in which Valencia Basket needed some time to deploy its best game. Although this would not take long to arrive, coinciding with the three-point explosion of Leo Fiebich, who made up to three consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter to go up one at halftime (45-46).

Roberto Íñiguez was able to organize his players' ideas during halftime, and this was evident in a third quarter in which the Girona team exploited Mariam Coulibaly's physical superiority in the paint to reach leads of around 7-8 points that were synonymous with qualification for the final. But Valencia Basket did not cease in its effort, beginning to work hard from defense following Rubén Burgos' instructions in a timeout, to tie the series again with the push of Klara Holm from the point guard position. A three-pointer by Queralt Casas in the final stretch would pave the way for the orange team so that, together with the final free throws, they could tie the game and impose their first-game advantage to reach the final (73-73).