A record 73-point first half did the trick
Valencia thrashes Cluj at home, 108-80
Valencia Basket remained undefeated in Group B by downing U-BT Cluj-Napoca 108-80 at La Fonteta in Round 12 on Wednesday. Valencia improved to 11-0 in the standings and set a record for most points in a half, leading 73-47 at the break. Cluj dropped to 6-6.
Josep Puerto, Jean Montero and Semi Ojeleye paced Valencia with 14 points apiece. Amida Brimah added 13, Jaime Pradilla and Brancou Badio each had 11 while Nate Sestina and Chris Jones got 10 apiece for Valencia. Sasu Salin led Cluj with 18 points. Zavier Simpson had 13 while De'Shawn Stephens added 12 for the guests.
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Karel Guzman got Cluj going with a close basket. Puerto erased it with a fallaway jumper and added a layup in transition and a power basket for a 6-2 Valencia lead. Stefan Jovic soon capped a 10-0 run with a driving layup. Salin struck 3 times from downtown and then Zach Hankins's layup gave Cluj a 12-13 lead. Badio buried a triple that Simpson matched with an acrobatic layup-plus-foul. Sestina nailed a jump hook, getting help from Pradilla to put Valencia ahead, 20-18. Ojeleye sank a corner triple, but Stephenson and Adam Mokoka drew Cluj closer, 23-22. Ojeleye erased DJ Seeley's jumper with a layup and hit a close shot for a 27-24 score. Pradilla struck from beyond the arc, then Montero made free throws and a step-back three-pointer that gave the hosts a 35-26 lead after 10 minutes.
Montero insisted from three-point range early in the second quarter and Puerto's Euro-step layup make Cluj call timeout at 40-26. Montero scored again and fed Brimah for a fastbreak layup. Badio soon addad a triple that Brimah followed with a wild alley-oop slam that broke the game open, 49-29. Mokoka scored around the basket, Puerto answered from downtown and Simpson brought the guests within 54-33. Jones and Ojeleye kept pacing Valencia, then Sestina hit another jump hook to boost his team's lead to 61-35. Guzman downed a three-pointer and Mareks Mejeris added a layup-plus-foul but Valencia kept rolling. Matt Costello hit a jumper, then Sestina and Jovic each nailed a three-pointer for a 73-41 lead. Stephens, Guzman and Salin brought Cluj within 73-47 at halftime.
Jones buried a three-pointer soon after the break and Badio added a fastbreak layup for a 78-49 Valencia lead. Stephens followed a jump hook with a fastbreak layup to get Cluj closer, 78-54. Brimah took over with an alley-oop slam and followed Salin's triple with a close jumper. Stephens scored in transition and Gediminas Orelik struck from beyond the arc to bring Cluj within 82-62. Jovic banked in a floater and Sestina added a bomb from downtown to make it 87-62. Mejeris finished a four-chance Cluj offense with a tip-in and Mokoka downed a six-meter jumper. Ojeleye sank a step-back jumper to fix the score at 89-66 through three quarters.
Mokoka sank an eight-meter bomb early in the fourth quarter. Badio answered with a three-point play and Pradilla's jump hook made it a 25-point game. Pradilla scored twice in the paint and Ojeleye buried a corner triple, helping Valencia go past the 100-point mark for the seventh time this season, 101-73. Simpson fired in a jumper and Hankins scored around the basket but everything was said and done. Valencia had plenty of time to celebrate yet another win in high-scoring fashion, taking another step forward to locking up a playoff spot.