DKV Joventut wins the spanish showdown

Mallett and Rubio (EFE)

11-04-2008 01:15

DKV Joventut send a message that echoed all around the continent and advanced to the ULEB Cup semifinals by thrashing Pamesa Valencia 77-67 in an all-Spanish showdown at Palavela in Turin, Italy on Thursday night.

Joventut is now set to face Galatasaray Cafe Crown in the first semifinal on Saturday at 18:30 CET while Pamesa, the first-ever ULEB Cup champion in 2003, has been eliminated from the fight to win the competition.

Demond Mallet paced the winners with 16 points. Eduardo Hernandez-Sonseca added 14 while Ricky Rubio had 12 for Joventut.

Shammond Williams led Pamesa with 25 points while Ruben Douglas added 17. Williams kept Pamesa within 17-16 late in the first quarter, but his team went scoreless in the next 8 minutes. Meanwhile, Rubio, Mallet and Barton fueled a mamooth 19-0 run that broke the game open, 36-16.

Joventut stayed ahead from that moment and a midcourt bomb by Pau Ribas gave his team its biggest margin, 61-37, after three quarters. Williams took over with a rain of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter but it happened to be too little, too late for his team.