By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Valencia put up a great fight at the WiZink Center, but Real Madrid is a different kind of animal this season.
Jared Harper scored a huge three-pointer to take the match to overtime, but that didn’t affect Chus Mateo’s side, which dominated in the additional five minutes and eventually won 96-86, to improve their EuroLeague-leading record to 19-2.
Facundo Campazzo was the top scorer of the winning side with 19 points, but he also made a key contribution in the decisive moments and dished out seven assists for a Player Impact Rating (PIR) of 28. However, it was Walter Tavares who had the highest PIR of 32, thanks to a monstrous double-double of 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds!
Sergio Llull scored 16 points, including a big go-ahead three-pointer in the final two minutes of the regular time, while Džanan Musa with 13 and Mario Hezonja with 10 points followed.
For Valencia, which showed great fighting spirit in Madrid, Brandon Davies led the scoring sheet with 19 points, Chris Jones had 17 points and six assists, while Stefan Jovic added 11 points, with four rebounds and assists for a team-high PIR of 21.
“We came in with just enough strength in overtime, and the first two baskets they scored disrupted us. I am satisfied with the team’s fight until the last second, regardless of the opponent, as they did against Real Madrid, probably the best team in Europe. I think we played a good game for 40, 42 minutes. Harper’s three-pointer in the last second indeed got us into overtime, but the previous three minutes, we played very well and in a good rhythm,” Alex Mumbru said after the 11th loss of his team in EuroLeague (10-11 score).
One more overtime
After taking a 5-6 lead in the opening minutes, Valencia maintained their advantage until half-time. However, a problem with the scoreboard occurred, resulting in a 15-minute pause that lasted a bit longer. When the issue was finally resolved, both teams returned to the floor, and Real gained control at the beginning of the third period.
Despite Real Madrid taking control, Valencia fought back and managed to regain the lead in the final quarter. However, they couldn’t pull away. In the closing minutes, Llull hit a crucial three-pointer to reverse the score to 77-75, and Campazzo followed with another, making it 80-77. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for Real Madrid.
Harper beat the clock and scored a game-tying three-pointer over Tavares. However, this didn’t dishearten Real Madrid. The hosts extended their lead in overtime from the free-throw line, and after two successful shots by Campazzo with 35 seconds on the clock, making it 96-86, it became clear that no miracle would be big enough for Valencia to make a comeback in the match.
“We can see that WiZink Arena likes overtimes, and we wanted to delight the fans with another one,” joked Chus Mateo at the press conference after the game, alluding to the victory after four overtimes against Anadolu Efes.
“Today, we didn’t start the game well, with a lot of turnovers in a very short time, which made our offense quite challenging. We had to attack well to prevent Valencia from running in transition. Valencia is also very good defensively, and it was tough for us to execute smooth attacks. Gradually, from the defense, especially in the second and third quarters, we got into the game, playing more of our style. Today was a day where we felt the fatigue the most after a lot of effort in recent days; we noticed that lack of fluidity.“