Valencia had not lost at the Roig Arena since October 15. A majestic streak with only one setback on their court, without an audience, against Hapoel between the ACB and the Euroleague. But Monaco, an overwhelming team, one of the few that scores more than the team taronja In Europe, he imposed his law to submit them to a defeat (92-101) that also allows him to surpass them in the classification. Real Madrid did much better in a Movistar Arena behind closed doors in which they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv (98-86).
Valencia found in its fiefdom an opponent who also travels loaded with artillery. The famous team of Pedro Martínez and Monaco are two rappers freestyle in a cockfight. Two groups that, instead of rapping very quickly, score non-stop (28-26 at the end of the first quarter). There’s a reason they are two of the best attacks in the Euroleague. The Principality’s team resisted thanks to the seasoned Nicola Mirotic, willing to continue writing beautiful basketball stories in the Euroleague, and author of eight points in the first quarter.
Valencia needed more defensive intensity and there Pedro Martínez immediately thought of Josep Puerto and Jaime Pradilla to pair up with the uncomfortable Diallo and Hayes. He raised the ante with the super specialist Isaac Nogués. Although, more than the defense, the good work on the offensive rebound kept him ahead.
This time the success in the outside shot was not accompanied and Valencia began to suffer against a Monaco of Vassilis Spanoulis that never lets up and that ended up leaving 13 points behind (40-53) of a very imprecise Valencia shortly before the break.
Valencia returned to the field with the premise of reducing attacks to 10 seconds. Pedro Martínez doubled his offensive commitment and the first to take the hit was Hayes, who committed his third foul with 17 minutes left. But this also seemed insufficient against a rival that is a car that never stops in the pits. His level of success (above 50% in three-pointers and 65% in two-pointers) was incontestable.
Valencia put their effort into the second half, but were unable to reduce Monaco’s flow until the end of the third quarter. There they were within seven points (67-74) and the fans finally began to put more pressure on Spanoulis’ team. The team taronja He was finally running, and that allowed him to enter the final quarter (70-76) thinking about a comeback.
Monaco, with less rotation, was beginning to falter. But just at that moment, Nemanja Nedovic, the Serbian who played in Valencia 10 years ago, emerged and scored 11 points in a row that saved his team.
98
86
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMA | 21 | 27 | 28 | 22 | 98 |
| TEL | 25 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 86 |
Real Madrid beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in a Movistar Arena without an audience, as is the usual norm when a Spanish team hosts an Israeli team. A measure that is not adopted in other countries and that leaves the four Spanish representatives at a clear disadvantage. Hezonja was the whites’ top scorer with 16 points to Campazzo’s 15.
