Great victory for the ‘orange’ team (72-87) on the Zalgiris court
MADRID, 27 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Valencia Basket won this Friday by a comfortable 72-87 in their visit to Zalgiris Kaunas, with outstanding performances by Chris Jones and Jared Harper, in a match corresponding to matchday 5 of the Euroleague in its Regular Phase, and which served to for the ‘taronja’ team to demonstrate its serious start to the season.
On the Zalgirio Arena field, Valencia took advantage of the home team’s poor defenses and soon took the lead on the scoreboard, opening the gap with a 2-7 start that Chris Jones finished off thanks to a triple. Tomas Dimsa responded with another and then Keenan Evans brought the Lithuanian team closer (12-13), with two converted free throws.
Brady Manek then came off the bench, threatening the comeback. However, the power forward from Edmond (Oklahoma) had his sights off and missed his first two shots, both from beyond the arc. The one who did get it right next was Semi Ojeleye, who made it 12-16 with a triple combined with two more baskets from the visiting team.
Thus, the first quarter closed at 12-20, which brought out the colors of the team coached by Kazys Maksvytis, with a more than crooked expression on their bench. Boubacar Toure added to Valencia’s good offensive performance and the difference reached 10 points, which continued to grow despite the fact that Lukas Lekavicius immediately made a three-pointer (15-22).
Not in vain, Ojeleye and Toure commanded a 0-10 partial that broke the match. Not even the awakening of Rolands Smits in front of the basket prevented the Valencian team from leaving without palliatives, because to the tune of Jared Harper they surpassed +20 several times (24-45, 26-47, 28-49) and reached the break with a succulent income (30-52).
Álex Mumbrú’s pupils exhibited skill in managing each attacking action and, above all, in not complicating their lives in defense. Nobody was charged with many personal fouls and the ‘taronja’ coach decided to distribute the minutes among his squad, while on the Lithuanian side the scoring contribution of Keenan Evans had dried up.
The ‘corduroy’ reached levels that were difficult to digest for the Zalgiris fans (32-61), who took philosophically what they saw on the hardwood. Edgaras Ulanovas and Kevarrius Hayes helped close the gap somewhat (50-67), but Harper grabbed the tempo of the game to avoid negative surprises at the conclusion of the third period (53-72).
The last chapter was almost a formality for Valencia, which regained breadth (53-77) after a triple from the omnipresent Harper and a basket from Nathan Reuvers. Although Hayes and Evans made up the result (66-84), the ‘taronja’ victory was never in danger.
Not even two late triples from Lekavicius, the second at the final buzzer, made the afternoon sour for Mumbrú’s pupils. Balance of 4-1 for them, at the top of the classification and tied with Barça, both behind the undefeated leader Real Madrid (5-0).
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: ZALGIRIS KAUNAS, 72 – VALENCIA BASKET, 87 (30-52, at halftime).
–EQUIPMENT.
ZALGIRIS KAUNAS: Evans (18), Giedraitis (4), Ulanovas (7), Smits (11) and Hayes (10) –quintet initial–; Mitrou-Long (-), Lekavicius (9), Dimsa (4), Birutis (2), Manek (4), Butkevicius (-) and Butka (-).
VALENCIA BASKET: Jones (16), Robertson (5), Claver (2), Inglis (4) and Davies (11) –starting quintet–; Puerto (2), Reuvers (11), Harper (13), Toure (9), Pradilla (2), Jovic (3) and Ojeleye (9).
–PARTIALS: 12-20, 18-32, 23-20 and 19-15.
–REFEREES: Mogulkoc, Panther and Celik. No eliminated.
–PAVILLION: Zalgirio Arena.