Valencia Basket gained more momentum by downing Real Madrid 89-78 at La Fonteta on Friday.
Valencia beats Real again
Game Report
1 Min read
Valencia Basket gained more momentum by downing Real Madrid 89-78 at La Fonteta on Friday. Valencia recorded its second consecutive win after downing CSKA Moscow in double overtime in Round 24, and improved to 13-12 in the standings. Real dropped to 15-10 and is 0-5 against Spanish teams in the EuroLeague this season. Sam Van Rossom led the winners with 16 points. Vanja Marinkovic added 14, Nikola Kalinic had 12 while Mike Tobey and Klemen Prepelic both got 11 for Valencia. Jaycee Carroll led Real with 20 points. Alberto Abalde added 13 and Edy Tavares 11. Marinkovic led Valencia to a 29-21 advantage after 10 minutes. The hosts boosted their margin to 55-35 at halftime and kept a 71-52 margin at the end of the third quarter, enough to seal the outcome way before the final buzzer.
Marinkovic and Kalinic got Valencia going with back-to-back three-pointers. Tavares hit consecutive jumpers but Van Rossom scored in penetration and Derrick Williams followed a dunk with a triple for a 13-6 Valencia lead. Bojan Dubljevic hit a jump hook and Marinkovic boosted the hosts' lead to 17-8. Carroll hit his third consecutive floater and struck three times from downtown, but a red-hot Marinkovic kept Valencia ahead, 26-19. Tobey joined the three-point shootout but Tavares kept Real within 29-21 after 10 minutes. Tobey insisted from downtown early in the second quarter and Kalinic added a driving layup for a 34-23 Valencia lead. Fabien Causeur scored twice around the basket and Sergio Llull improved Louis Labeyrie's dunk with a three-pointer to keep Real within 39-30. Josep Puerto took over with a coast-to-coast layup and Martin Hermannsson downed a triple to make the guests call timeout at 44-30. Hermannsson hit a jumper, getting help from Dubljevic and Van Rossom to break the game open, 50-33. Marinkovic hit a driving layup and Prepelic beat the halftime buzzer with a huge three-pointer that made it a 20-point game at the break, 55-35.
Gabriel Deck followed a running hook with a triple, and Nicolas Laprovittola also struck from downtown to give Real hope at 57-43. Tavares scored twice in the paint and Deck added a layup, but Kalinic and an outstanding Van Rossom kept Valencia way ahead, 69-51. Hermannsson scored around the rim for a 71-52 score after 30 minutes. Tobey and Trey Thompkins traded put-back baskets early in the fourth quarter. Carlos Alocen followed Causeur's layup with a triple for a 73-59 scoreline. Tobey answered from beyond the arc and Prepelic added a layup, before Abalde and Carroll got the guests closer, 78-64. But Van Rossom and Kalinic sealed the outcome, 82-66, with three minutes left.
Game Leaders
Pivotal performer
Sam Van Rossom dominated the game tempo and seemed to be everywhere, leading Valencia at both ends of the floor. He finished the game with 16 points on 5-of-5 two-pointers and 2-of-4 three-pointers, adding 8 rebounds for a game-high PIR of 20.
Game-changing moment
Valencia led 39-30 late in the first half and started to find good scoring options everywhere. Josep Puerto scored on the break, Martin Hermannsson followed a three-pointer with a jumper, Bojan Dubljevic, Van Rossom and Vanja Marinkovic each added layups, and Klemen Prepelic beat the halftime buzzer with a huge triple that made it a 20-point game, 55-35. Real could never come back from that.
Stellar stat
Valencia excelled in the first half, hitting 13-of-16 two-point shots (81.3%) and 8-of-14 three-pointers (57.1%) and getting 10 assists while picking up just one turnover. Real, meanwhile, had 6 turnovers and hit only 4-of-16 three-pointers before the break. The PIR difference, 67-35, said it all.
Did you know?
Valencia has now beaten Real twice in this year's EuroLeague Regular Season, having previously downed Los Blancos 77-93 at WiZink Center. That has only happened once in the Spanish League regular season out of 30 times since 1990, in the 2002-03 season when Valencia won 74-87 in Madrid and 77-76 at La Fonteta.