By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Valencia got a huge 77-62 win over Baskonia, not only triumphing on the road but also getting the head-to-head tiebreaker with the hosts.
Brandon Davies with 19 points, Chris Jones with 12, and Semi Ojeleye with 11 led a balanced effort for the guests, now tied with Olympiacos, Baskonia, and Partizan at 12-11.
It was a crucial result for Valencia which was defeated at home by Baskonia with a 14-point margin (98-84).
“We were really locked in defensively and I have to give credit to my teammates, Justin Anderson and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui who did a great job against a great scorer like Howard”, said Davies.
It was the lowest scoring total of the season for Baskonia with Markus Howard finishing the night with just seven points and 1/9 threes.
Baskonia got 16 points from Chima Moneke and 10 from Vanja Marinkovic, finishing the game with just five made threes in 30 attempts (16,7%), a shooting performance that dictated the outcome.
“It was a very bad game, sometimes it happens like this”, said Baskonia coach Dusko Ivanovic.
No threes, no party
Howard started the game with three points in the first half and 1/6 threes, Baskonia in total had 1/14 and that’s pretty much the story of the game for the first three quarters.
After a competitive first quarter which ended with Valencia up by three (16-13), the guests got a solid 45-29 halftime advantage and never looked back.
Valencia’s lead went up to 17 (49-32) and Baskonia trimmed it to 10 (58-48) at the end of the third, by keeping the guests to just 13 points in the period but also having 2/19 threes.
With Howard making his second shot in the game and Moneke connecting to a three, Baskonia finally made it a 6-point game (59-53), newcomer Theodore added one more three and suddenly the hosts were just one shot away from Valencia (59-56).
“We know that Baskonia is very good at reacting and coming back, so we were ready, we had the mentality to avoid collapsing on those two-three minutes when they were pressing us”, said Valencia coach Alex Mumbru after the game.
Justin Anderson and Chris Jones answered back with two threes making it again a 9-point game (65-56). Valencia led even by 16 (75-59) entering the last two minutes and the game was already decided.
“We are happy after winning, but we still have a lot of games ahead of us”, added Mumbru setting the tone as the fight for the playoffs and the playing is just heating up.
Photo credit: EuroLeague