Valencia dreams of extending the streak against a powerful Monaco
MADRID, 10 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Valencia Basket hosts AS Mónaco this Friday at La Fonteta (9:00 pm), on matchday 7 of the Euroleague Regular Phase, in a complicated duel for the ‘taronja’ given that they will face the second-placed team in the competition.
This complicated clash comes at a good time. Valencia Basket has just linked two victories, against ALBA Berlin (87-73, in La Fonteta) and against Olympiacos (82-83, in Piraeus), and dreams of beating a Monaco that is being one of the revelations of the start of the tournament.
Sasa Obradovic coaches a team that has only lost in Tel Aviv against Maccabi (78-70) and that has beaten Anadolu Efes, Panathinaikos or Olympiacos so far. A team that surprises, and that has its great star in Mike James.
The American, who knows La Fonteta well and who achieved his all-time highest score in the Euroleague (37 points) in a match against CSKA Moscow in the ‘taronja’ fiefdom, has an average of 21.3 points and is the Monegasques’ offensive reference.
It will be an unprecedented duel, because despite being two EuroCup champion teams, they have never seen each other in a European duel. Unprecedented, Valencia Basket will try to stop James and Jordan Loyd, a former ‘taronja’ player who is visiting what was his home for the first time as a rival.
Jordan Loyd, who made his debut in the Euroleague in the 2019-20 season in the ranks of Valencia Basket, will now face two former teammates like Sam Van Rossom – who is absent along with Martin Hermannsson – and Bojan Dubljevic.
With four wins in the last five games, Valencia Basket is excited and has enough spirit to stand up. At the moment, they have 3 wins and 3 losses at this start of the Euroleague and knocking down Monaco would allow them to unbalance the balance on the positive side.
“It is a team with great players, with a lot of one-on-one, with a lot of scoring and a lot of physicality. With skill and with one of the top scorers in the competition, Mike James, who generates imbalance all the time. With Jordan Loyd, who knows him well in Valencia, Okobo, interior players both low post and physical like Brown”, warned the ‘taronja’ coach, Álex Mumbrú, about his rival.
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
VALENCIA BASKET: Prepelic, Jones, Puerto, Webb III and Dubljevic –possible starting quintet–; Harper, Claver, Pradilla, López-Arostegui, Radebaugh, Jiménez, and Alexander.
AS MONACO: James, Loyd, Ouattara, Brown and Hall –possible starting five–; Okobo, Blossomgame, Makoundou, Diallo, Moerman, Motiejunas and Strazel.
–ÁRBITROS: Pukl, Pastusiak y Koljensic.
— PAVILION: La Fonteta.