The visitors trailed after each of the first three quarters, but a strong fourth quarter saw Pedro Martinez's men grab the victory
Valencia stays perfect after storming comeback win at Cluj, 96-105
Game Report
3 Mins read
Valencia Basket rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat U-BT Cluj-Napoca 96-105 on the road in Round 3 of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season on Wednesday. Valencia improved to 3-0 and is one of three undefeated teams in Group B, along with Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse and Turk Telekom Ankara. Cluj dropped to 0-3.
Semi Ojeleye and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui paced the winners with 22 points apiece. Brancou Badio added 14, Jean Montero had 13 while Jaime Pradilla got 11 for Valencia, which tied an all-time BKT EuroCup record by hitting 20 three-pointers. De'Shawn Stephens led Cluj with 17 points. D.J. Seeley and Adam Mokoka each added 15, Zavier Simpson had 13 and Sasu Salin 12.
Mareks Mejeris got Cluj going with a layup and Seeley added a jumper for a 4-3 lead. Lopez-Arostegui and Badio each struck from downtown to give Valencia a 4-9 margin. After Salin buried back-to-back triples, Lopez-Arostegui insisted from beyond the arc. Simpson's stop-and-pop jumper tied it at 12-12. Badio sank his second three-pointer and Montero erased Zach Hankins's jump hook with a step-back jumper. Mokoka stepped up with consecutive baskets and then Karel Guzman's floater put Cluj back ahead, 20-19. Stevens followed an alley-oop layup with a jump hook for a 24-19 Cluj lead after 10 minutes.
Stephens capped a 13-0 run with a three-point play early in the second quarter. Pradilla stepped up with a layup-plus-foul, Stephens scored again and Guzman hit a three-pointer in transition that prompted Valencia to call timeout at 32-22. Badio banked in a three-pointer but Seeley, Simpson and Mejeris boosted Cluj's lead to 42-25. Ojeleye and Lopez-Arostegui each scored in penetration before Salin and Montero traded triples. Stephens's tip-in restored a 47-32 Cluj margin. Ojeleye struck from downtown, Ethan Happ scored down low and Lopez-Arostegui brought Valencia within 47-39. Ojeleye kept pacing Valencia but Mokoka kept Cluj in charge, 52-44, at halftime.
Seeley buried a floater shortly after the break, which Ojeleye erased with a power layup. Simpson took over with a wild driving layup and Stephens scored around the basket for a 58-48 Cluj cushion. After Stephens and Badio traded coast-to-coast layups, Patrick Richards finished a great Cluj offense with a corner triple. Ojeleye kept trying to change things for the visitors and Badio buried a triple to give his team hope at 63-58. Stefan Jovic scored off a steal to cap a 0-10 run. Kevin Hervey rescued Cluj with a three-pointer. Guzman stopped the show with a huge dunk and Richards added a three-point play, but Lopez-Arostegui and Montero drew Valencia within 75-70 after 30 minutes.
Costello struck from beyond the arc early in the fourth quarter and Pradilla's tip-in tied it at 75-75. Seeley hit a three-pointer but so did Montero and Lopez-Arostegui to complete Valencia's comeback, 78-84. Salin and Seeley each buried a three-pointer to tie it again, 84-84, with over 6 minutes left. Costello also downed a triple, then Ojeleye gave Valencia fresh air at 84-90. Mokoka and Guzman each scored in penetration, then Josep Puerto sank back-to-back three-pointers for a 90-96 score. Jovic found Pradilla for a Fastbreak layup and Ojeleye restored a 94-100 Valencia edge with 1:09 left. Montero sealed the outcome with a layup, as Cluj never recovered.
Game Leaders
DE'SHAWNSTEPHENS
DE'SHAWNSTEPHENS
27
Performance Index Rating(PIR)
XABILOPEZ-AROSTEGUI
XABILOPEZ-AROSTEGUI
29
