By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Valencia snapped back from its road game troubles to defeat Khimki Moscow Region 77-68 in Round 30 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on Friday and take a step forward for their playoffs fight after also improving its record to 16-14.
The Spanish side arrived in Moscow having lost 8 of its last 9 road games but held on to the victory with the help of Derrick Williams, who led Jaume Ponsarnau’s squad with 18 points, 4 rebounds.
Mike Tobey added up to Williams’ efforts with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Nikola Kalinic and Klemen Prepelic tapped 10 points each.
“Khimki have big talents, very good shooters and we had problems controlling the offense against their press. We had a lot of problems before this game, we arrived with many players injured and it was tough game for us with the pressure of our hope to keep fighting for the playoffs”, said coach Ponsarnau following the win.
Depleted Khimki lacked Alexey Shved, who also missed the team’s VTB League game late last week, and had Jordan Mickey posting 20 points and 7 rebounds, while Sergey Karasev also added 16 points. Despite their spirited effort in the fourth quarter, Valencia was able to overcome its road “curse” and sweep the Russians this season.
The Russian side slipped its third game in a row after their Round 27 win that ended a 17-game losing skid and sinks further down the standings with a 3-26 record.
Photo: EuroLeague