Valencia secured a 82-76 victory over Unicaja in a highly-anticipated match in the third round of the Liga Endesa. Meanwhile, Murcia outperformed Tenerife.
Unicaja had a strong start, as evidenced by the score after the first quarter, leading 26-21. However, their good first quarter was offset by a poor second quarter, during which they only scored 12 points. On the other hand, Valencia didn’t perform much better. The teams entered halftime with Valencia trailing by just one point, with a score of 38-37 in favor of Unicaja.
The hosts had a better start to the next phase of the game, building a ten-point lead, but it didn’t last long. Valencia managed to stage a comeback and erase the lead held by the green-clad team. The “Orange” team then created their own run at the beginning of the final quarter, maintaining their advantage and securing their second win of the season.
The standout player in this game was Montenegrin national team player Kendrick Perry, who scored 23 points. Unfortunately for him, no one else on his team could match his scoring output. On the winning side, Sami Ojeleye contributed 19 points, while Chris Jones added 15 points.
Murcia continues its strong start to the season
They defeated Tenerife with a score of 80-68. The first half didn’t go smoothly for Sito Alonso’s team. In the second quarter, they allowed 20 points while scoring only 10 and had to work hard to make a comeback, which they did in the following quarter.
They erased the double-digit lead created by the visiting team and then, with a fantastic fourth quarter in which they had a 21-0 run, they defeated Tenerife and secured their third win in as many games.
The standout player on the winning side was Simon Birgander, who had 26 points and eight rebounds. He was followed by his fellow countryman Ludvig Hakanson with 13 points. Elgin Cook led the team from the same island with 13 points.