By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The first EuroCup finals’ game set the mood for the rest of the series, with Valencia prevailing 68-62 against Unicaja Malaga after a tough battle, as Bojan Dubljevic led the winners with 14 points.
With the two teams keeping perfect balance in the first half (45-45 at halftime), and the hosts only stepping up slightly in the third period, it became obvious that these two would fight head to head until the end, and so it happened!
With 2 minutes to go, Valencia was up 65-60, yet Dubljevic was there to save his team and sealed the victory with a 3-pointer towards the end.
Dubljevic also became the competition’s all-time scoring king! Dubljevic eclipsed the mark of 1,189 points, which teammate Rafa Martinez had held for all of two and a half quarters.
Martinez made a long jumper off an inbounds play at the 6:16 mark of the second quarter to surpass Marko Popovic of Montakit Fuenlabrada for the career lead in EuroCup points; Popovic had set the record earlier this season. But Dubljevic nailed a three-pointer with 31.5 seconds left to seal the win and take his personal tally to 1,190 points. With at least one and perhaps two games left to this series, the top spot on the career scoring charts could still change hands between these two players multiple times.