By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Alexey Shved scored 19 points and became the fourth best scorer in the franchise’s history in the competition, as Khimki Moscow came back to EuroLeague after a one-year break with a 75 – 70 over Valencia, that also returned after 2015.
Apart for Shved, former NBA-er Thomas Robinson dropped 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in just the 15 minutes he spent on the floor during his overseas debut.
“I want to come here and win. To get a start with a W it’s an important start for me and my teammates. I respect myself and the team to play hard every night,” said Robinson after the game.
Handcuffing Green and co.: It was a defensive triumph for coach Giorgos Bartzokas’ team which paved the path to victory by pulling off some magnificent stops down the stretch. The Russian side allowed only three points in a timeframe spanned from the final minutes of the third period until late in the fourth.
With Erick Green (Just two of his 22 points scored in the last 12 minutes) and Tibor Pleiss (13 points, 6 rebounds in total) out of the offensive equation, Valencia saw its 47 – 54 lead getting transformed to a 66 – 57 deficit in the mid of the fourth period.
Fighting back to no avail: The Spanish League champions reacted and made it 68 – 64 with 2:44 remaining but missed some good opportunities to get closer. Khimki responded with a 4 – 0 run and finished the game when Stefan Markovic (9 points) scored for the 75 – 69 with 35 seconds left.