Baskonia, led by the brilliant Markus Howard and Vanja Marinkovic, secured a win on the road against Valencia with a score of 98-84 in the 11th round of the EuroLeague.
This win marks Baskonia’s sixth win, while Alex Mumbru’s team suffered their sixth loss, the fifth in a row. The home team performed better in the first half, and the guests dominated the second. The turning point was a 16-2 run at the beginning of the final quarter, putting Dusko Ivanovic’s team ahead 83-72.
Markus Howard led the winners with 24 points, Chima Moneke contributed 19, and Vanja Marinkovic added 14 points. For the home team, Semi Ojeleye scored 16, Brandon Davies had 13, and Chris Jones also had 13 points.
The home team had a strong start to the game
The home team had a strong start to the game, establishing a noticeable advantage in the early phase. After a 7:2 run, they took the lead at 19:12. Dusko Ivanovic’s team responded with a mini-series led by Tadas Sedekerskis, closing the gap to 19:16. The first quarter ended with the home team leading 21:20, with Sedekerskis scoring eight points and Vanja Marinkovic adding five in the first 10 minutes.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the home team accelerated the pace, initiating another mini-series and taking a lead of 31:22. The home team excelled in this phase of the match, both in offensive rebounds, reaching a double-digit lead for the first time at 42:30. Markus Howard then came to life, narrowing the deficit to 44:39, and the halftime score was 52:44.
In the second half, particularly at its beginning, the visitors play better and bring the game back to a tie at 57:57 after five minutes of play. The home team had no answers for Howard, who already had 18 points to his name after 15 minutes of play. However, the home players managed to recover from this setback, and the score was 70:67 in their favor heading into the last 10 minutes.
Nevertheless, the visitors continued with their strong performance in the second half, starting the final quarter with a 16:2 run to take the lead at 83:72, a lead they maintained until the end to secure the win.
VALENCIA – BASKONIA 84:98 (21:20, 31:24, 18:23, 14:31)
Venue: “Pabellon Fuente De San Luis”, Valencia
Referees: Boltauzer, Difallah, Cici
Valencia: Harper 12, Claver 4, Puerto, Reuvers 5, Pradilla , Lopez-Arostegui 9, Jones 13, Inglis 8, Toure 3, Robertson 1, Davies 13, Ojeleye 16.
Baskonia:Howard 24, Mannion , Raieste , Chiozza , Sedekerskis 9, Marinkovic 14, Miller-McIntyre 11 (10 as) , Diez 3, Diop , Kotsar 9, Costello 9, Moneke 19.