Jean Montero posted a career-high 25 points to lead his team to their first ever victory at Zvezda
Fearless Valencia sweeps Zvezda with historic triumph in Belgrade
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 20 of 38
Regular Season
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet BelgradeCZV
89106
Valencia BasketVBC
Overview
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On a day where a snow-covered Belgrade celebrated Christmas Eve, Valencia Basket took to the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall to ruin the festivities and it did so in style.
The Spanish side may have never celebrated a victory away at Zvezda heading into Tuesday’s clash, but curses are there to be broken and the visitors proved that by grabbing a 89-106 win on the road.
Pulling off what head coach Pedro Martinez called "probably" the team’s "best game of the season" in the press conference, Valencia cruised past the hosts in the first half.
Jean Montero produced a career night in the Serbian capital, netting 15 points as Valencia took a 37-54 lead at halftime. A 2-11 run to end the first quarter was followed by a 2-9 surge late in the second, as the visitors silenced the home crowd with big baskets and transition points off turnovers.
Despite Valencia’s strong start to the game, Zvezda showed no intention of throwing in the towel. The hosts hit the ground running in the second half by going on a 13-0 run that cut the difference to 50-54. Inspired by a red-hot Jordan Nwora, who scored 17 of his 22 points in the third quarter, the Serbian side brought the fans back into the game.
With the arena buzzing, Valencia met the moment head-on and responded with a 0-9 run that put an end to Zvezda’s momentum. Brancou Badio nailed one from deep before making 2 from the free-throw line. Then, he set up Jaime Pradilla and Montero, whose bucket restored a 50-63 cushion. Valencia would never look back.
“In basketball, it’s so important to play well, but it’s more important to recover from the bad moments,” Martinez told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We were sure, because Zvezda is a very good team, that in the second half, they were going to react. We needed to understand that it was a new game and we had to play well another time and we did that. I’m happier for this than for the win.”
Valencia opened the first double-round week of 2026 with a victory in Belgrade, maintaining its spot on top of the standings alongside Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv.
This is yet another statement road win by the Spanish side, which has already celebrated triumphs away at both Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus. Because, as Kameron Taylor stressed after the game, this group of players shall not flinch against any opponent.
“I think we’re just hungry,” he told EuroLeague TV. “We don’t have any fears. We’re looking forward to the next game. Crowds like this really bring the best out of us. We’ve played in Greece, in here. Playing in front of the best crowds we look forward to. I think we are just hungry, young guys.”
Montero ended the game on a career-high 25 points by going 6-for-7 from inside the arc and 3-for-8 from deep. He stepped up on both ends of the floor, also recording a game-high 4 steals in a sublime night for the EuroLeague rookie.
“We’ve got to believe in us,” he said after the game. “Obviously, during the game, there’s lots of ups and downs. We’ve just got to stay together and stick to the coach's plan.”
Having swept one of the playoff contenders by scoring over 100 points at Zvezda, Valencia is set to host last season’s runner-up AS Monaco on Thursday night. Brimming with confidence from the start of the season, Martinez’s team has shown no hesitation in looking EuroLeague powerhouses in the eye.
Considered by many as the most fun-to-watch side in the league, Valencia has taken EuroLeague by storm and does not seem willing to gear down.
