By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Valencia showcased great energy all over the floor and prevailed over Anadolu Efes with 78-71 on Friday. For Vidoretta’s squad, this marks their first win in the competition this season, while Efes now fall to a 0-2 record.
The star: Undoubtedly, Erick Green was one of the hosts’ key players to this victory, adding 24 points and five rebounds. Not only that, but he broke his own efficiency record with 33 points (his previous record was 31, against Unics Kazan).
Valencia got away with an initial 15-6 lead at 5′ and even managed to keep a short head throughout the first period with 19-13. A 9-2 partial score gave the hosts their first double-digit lead in the game with 25-15. Errick McCollum (20 pts) tied the score at 38 points later on, as the Turkish side fought back in the second quarter and that was even the score at halftime, with Erick Green and Vladimir Micov pacing each side respectively.
The turning point: Entering the second half, Valencia accelerated and with a partial 28-8 run pulled off with a double-digit lead again and this time it was for good, as the home team kept an 18-point lead after three quarters, with 66-48.
Even when the Serbian side trimmed the deficit to 10 points early in the fourth quarter, Green’s energy sealed the result for the Spanish team.