By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Valencia put an end to Zalgiris Kaunas’ reign in the standings with a 94-82 victory, forcing the Lithuanian side to their first defeat in Round 5 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
The Spanish team managed to recover from a 45-37 deficit at halftime and lead by 10 points at the end of the third period (67-57) to gain control of the game and reach its third victory of the season, improving to a 3-1 record (their Round 4 game vs. Zenit was postponed).
Bojan Dubljevic led the winning side with 16 points and five rebounds, while Vanja Marinkovic also posted 16 points and two rebounds.
“Vanja Marinkovic is a young player with big talents, big skills. He started the season injured. Our confidence in him is high and we know that can help this team a lot”, said coach Ponsarau after the game, commenting on the Serbian player’s performance
Nikola Kalinic and Klemen Prepelic also finished the game in double digits, with 14 and 13 points each, while coach Jaume Ponsarau had the chance to use nearly his entire squad. Louis Labeyrie stepped up in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 12 points and five rebounds.
Things didn’t look that bright for the hosts, despite pouring 7 three-pointers in the first period to grab an early 27-22 lead in the game. Augustine Rubit and Marius Grigonis were the leading scorers for the Lithuanian team with 12 points each, while Nigel Hayes and Joffrey Lauvergne tapped 11 points apiece.
Photo: EuroLeague