By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
After starting the season with nine games losing-streak, Milan has now won three EuroLeague games in a row, beating Valencia 90-79 at home in Round 16.
Being the hero against AS Monaco, Billy Baron was decisive against Valencia as well with 24 points. Brandon Davies followed with 17 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in an all-around performance.
Coming back to the court after three straight sidelined games and being on two EuroLeague teams’ radar, DeShaun Thomas scored 7 points. Devon Hall and Nazareth Mitrou-Long combined for 26 points.
“We’re very happy about an important win. One more time, it was a beautiful atmosphere tonight, with a lot of people at the arena. I’m really thankful. I think we kept building leads but we made some mistakes that allowed them to come close. We found balance on offense going back inside, going to Brandon and Devon”, Ettore Messina said in the post-game press conference.
Bojan Dubljevic was by far the best player on Alex Mumbru’s team. The captain of the Spanish team ended the game with 26 points and 7 rebounds, shooting almost perfectly from the field (11/12), but he got fouled out with 1:45 left after ripping his jersey. In the first quarter, he scored 23.
Klemen Prepelic followed with 12 points. Without Chris Jones, its highest scorer in the EuroLeague, Valencia didn’t find a lot of scoring contributions.
“A tough game. In the first quarter, we allowed too many points, in the second quarter we showed something better on offense. After half-time, some mistakes didn’t give us the opportunity to fight back. Jonah Radebaugh played great today as the point guard and on defense”, Alex Mumbru said in the post-game press conference.
After being up by 16 in the second quarter and closing the first half at 50-43, Milan slowed down, giving Valencia the opportunity to reduce the gap to 2 points.
The home side quickly took control of the game once again with a 13-0 run in the third quarter. Nevertheless, the away team managed to almost turn it around at the beginning of the last period, but Milan survived and ran away.
On his return to the bench, Ettore Messina didn’t have Shavon Shields, Kevin Pangos, and Gigi Datome. Alex Mumbru, instead, didn’t have Sam Van Rossom, Martin Hermannsson, and Millan Jimenez, other than the former ASVEL playmaker.
In Round 17, Milan (6-10) will travel to Athens to face Olympiacos on December 6 at 20:00 CET. On the same day but thirty minutes later, Valencia (7-9) will host Crvena Zvezda.
PHOTO CREDIT: Valencia Basket