1999-00

A season of significant contrasts. The 1999-00 season was Miki Vukovic's fifth and last at the helm of the Pamesa Valencia first team. A season that began with the idea of making only the necessary changes to maintain the block that had worked so well in previous seasons.

There were only two signings, the first of which was forced, as the ACB reduced the quota of extracommunity players from 3 to only 2, and most of the teams had to do without the American outside player. This is the case of Pamesa Valencia, who signed Nenad Markovic, a Bosnian forward with an enormous three-point shooting ability and who arrived with Spanish nationality under his arm. Along with him, another star signing, perhaps one of the most talked-about in history, was the arrival from Real Madrid of Tanoka Beard, a powerful player, scorer and rebounder for the center position.

The rest of the roster remains the same as the previous year, with Nacho Rodilla at the helm at point guard and César Alonso as his faithful squire, with Víctor Luengo and José Luis Maluenda competing for minutes at shooting guard and Berni Álvarez sharing the small forward position with Markovic. On the inside, the second year, already more settled, of Bernard Hopkins, and continuity for Alfons Albert and Rubén Burgos as third and fourth center, joined by the young Antonio Tortajada, promoted to be part of the first team of Pamesa Valencia.

The season could not have started better, becoming the revelation team and achieving the longest winning streak in the history of Valencia Basket since its foundation. Tau Cerámica, Caja San Fernando, Pinturas Bruguer Badalona, Jabones Pardo Fuenlabrada, Real Madrid Teka, Casademont Girona, Caceres CB, Unicaja, León Caja España, Cabitel Gijón, Lobos Cantabria and Breogán Universiade. 12 consecutive wins to start! Incredible run of 12-0 in ACB in a mark still in the memory. However, the streak was cut short at the Palacio de los Deportes de Madrid against Adecco Estudiantes. And the team from Madrid would become the great bogeyman of the season.

The team's good line was noticed in the first trophy at stake. The Copa del Rey was played in Vitoria and Pamesa Valencia came with serious chances of winning the trophy. The resounding victory in the quarterfinals against Unicaja gave way to a very important game on Saturday. Barça, led by Goldwire and a young Gasol, bent the knee against the Hopkins-Tanoka pairing and the 75-73 win qualified Pamesa Valencia for its second Cup final. There awaited Estudiantes, the team that broke the streak of consecutive victories, and the team that would deprive Pamesa of its second title in three years. Alfonso Reyes, MVP of the Final, tipped the scales.

A new opportunity would arise in the Saporta Cup, where Pamesa Valencia and Kinder Bologna would face each other in the quarterfinals. The powerful Italian team, with players who would later come to Valencia such as Sandro Abbio and Antoine Rigaudeau, and with other stars such as Stombergas, Andersen or Danilovic, swept the Valencians 85-61 in the first leg. However, the heat of the Fonteta came close to turning the tie around, with a 24-point difference that would have allowed a miracle.

Back in the league, the fifth place finish resulted in a quarter-final against Adecco Estudiantes with home-court advantage. The convincing 3-0 victory of the team coached by Pepu Hernández put the finishing touch to a season that would mean the end of a cycle, the farewell to Miki Vukovic and even the farewell to the red and white on the kits.