The Roig Arena experienced one of the great European nightsagainst a new rival, but with a potential that gives even more value to the hard-fought victory against Dubai (80-78). A match that was decided in the last seconds and that once again showed the competitive version of a team that has talent in abundance, both in attack and defense. Of course, a large part of the victory was in the hands of Taylor and Moore, successful in the decisive moments of the last quarter and with 19 and 15 points respectively.
Sergio de Larrea, already absent on Tuesday due to some discomfort, was left out again in a Valencia Basket that started with Jean Montero, Omari Moore, Kameron Taylor, Jaime Pradilla and Nate Reuvers.
The Taronja did not take long to show one of their best weapons and with two triples from Montero and Reuvers they opened the scoringwith a first quarter of 6-0 that was reduced little by little until reaching 9-10 right in the middle of the first quarter, after a triple by McKinley Wright IV.
Against the rival with the lowest percentage of two of the rivals, Pedro MartÃnez's team sought the line of 6.75 and in fact, they did not score their first basket of two until almost eight minutes into the game, with Darius Thompson making it 14-18. Taylor scored the Taronja's third triple before, but then came a tough 0-12 run that brought the score to 9-16.
A warning to which Valencia BC reacted quickly, to close the first period with a 9-0 run that put the 23-20 at the end of the first ten minuteswith a triple by Moore at the buzzer after two good actions by Costello and Pradilla in the area.
Second quarter
Petrusev, who had already done damage in the first quarter, opened the second with three points to even the score, although The danger on the return to the court came in the hands of Bertans, with two consecutive triples.
The points came in dribs and drabs, Taylor allowed the distance not to widen and Badio, with a triple, returned the advantage to the locals with a 30-29 four minutes after the restart.
Former orange player Justin Anderson added his first points of the game, but it was Darius Thompson, with a spectacular dunk, who got the fans on their feet in the next action.
Petrusev added again, but the one who appeared now was his partner in the inside game Mfiondu Kabengele, who punished the taronja rim again and again until he brought his team to 38-41 at halftimeafter two free throws from Montero that closed the first half, in which former Taronja Klemen Prepelic did not play a minute.
Problems scoring two
Dubai's indoor duo once again punished the taronja on their return to the court, with Petrusev and Kabengeli pushing their team to 40-50 after two other actions by outsiders Ellis and Wright IV.
Despite Pradilla's response, It was once again difficult for the Taronja to score from two and oxygen came with the triples of Badio, Darius and Costellowhich preceded a dunk from Sako with an assist from Montero to make it 52-55, putting the locals squarely in the game.
An exchange of baskets reached 60-64with everything to be decided with the last ten minutes left after a final drive to the basket by the always energetic Badio.
Taylor moment and tension at the end
Once again Badio reduced the gap with another entry on the return to the track, but It was Kameron Taylor who assumed scoring responsibility in the first minuteswith two triples and eight points in a row that allowed the game to be tied (70-70) with 6:15 remaining. The taronja defense increased in intensity at times and took the nerves of the rival, more imprecise than in the first three quarters.
The nerves were already noticeable on the court, errors and losses occurred in both teams and Valencia BC and Dubai alternated on the scoreboardwith free throws from Montero, a triple from Bacon and a layup from Moore (74-73), who later assumed responsibility at the rim with the game tied until the final seconds.
Moore responded to a three-pointer from Bacon and a basket from Wright IV, to make it 80-78 with 21:3 left.. Bacon took a chance on the last possession and although he missed the shot and the Roig Arena exploded with joy to celebrate the victory, he came to the controversy with a called foul that allowed Dubai one last action with 0.3 seconds left, amid protests from the local fans.
Bertans missed the shot after receiving a pass from the baseline and now, the game closed with a Taronja victory, the fifth in the current Euroleague.
Technical sheet:
80.- Valencia Basket (23+15+22+20): Montero (7), Moore (15), Taylor (19), Pradilla (5), Reuvers (3) – starting five – Badio (12), Thopmson (9), Nogués (-), López-Arostegui (-), Puerto (-), Costello (8) and Sako (2).
78.- Dubai (20+2123+14): ellis (18), bacon (10), Wright (7), Petrusev (17), Kabetele (9) -9) -Cinco Titular- abass (-), Bertans (6), Anderson (5), Condic (6), y Kamenjas (-).
Referees: Ryzhyk (UKR), Dragojevic (MNE) and Radojkovic (CRO). No eliminated.
incidences: match corresponding to the eighth day of the regular phase of the Euroleague at the Roig Arena in front of 10,462 spectators. Before the start of the match, a video was shown to remember the work that Valencia Basket did to help alleviate the effects of the damage that on October 29, 2024 caused 229 deaths in the province of Valencia and enormous material damage.
