Armoni Brooks scored 25 points to secure a 111-97 victory for Valencia Basket against Leyma Coruña on Sunday at the Roig Arena, maintaining their second-place standing in the Liga Endesa.
The match was officiated by referees Cortés, García, and Esteve, and featured an attendance of 11.396 spectators for this eighth round fixture of the regular season.
The visiting Galician side traveled without Lukas Uleckas, who remained on the bench due to an ankle sprain, alongside the absent Tomas Dimsa. For Valencia, the victory marked their fifth win in domestic competition, a run achieved under coach Xavi Albert following a summer transition that saw the team move on from former coach Pedro Martínez.
Brooks dominates the first half
Leyma Coruña made its first visit to the Roig Arena on Sunday for the eighth round of the Liga Endesa regular season, drawing 11.396 spectators. Despite a competitive effort that included winning the final quarter, the visitors struggled to contain an explosive opening performance from Armoni Brooks.
Diarios AS reported that the American guard racked up 21 points by halftime alone, fueled by consecutive three-pointers at the start of the second quarter that tore open the game.
MARCA said that Valencia entered the contest following an unpolished start where both teams prioritized offense over defense, allowing Coruña to stay close early on by feeding George Conditt near the basket.
However, energy from the Valencia bench—sparked by Álvaro Cárdenas, Josep Puerto, and Jasiel Rivero—shifted the momentum. Diarios AS observed that Coruña’s primary scorer, Alonzo Verge, was effectively neutralized by the defensive efforts of Kam Taylor and Cárdenas, finishing the first half with a negative valuation.
Seeing his team fall behind, Coruña coach Carles Marco called a timeout to adjust his defensive matchups against Brooks, but the American continued his onslaught, netting 15 points in a six-minute span, according to MARCA. Valencia surged to a 63-48 lead at the break, leaving the visitors scrambling to find an answer as both teams registered matching quarter-by-quarter scoring totals of 24 points in the first and second periods.
Coruña fights back too late
After the intermission, Valencia maintained control behind Neal Sako’s rebounding and Cárdenas’s court vision. Diarios AS detailed how Mario Saint-Supéry contributed across the board with steals and defensive plays, highlighted by a review-confirmed block on Tim Jorgensen early in the third quarter. Caio Pacheco stepped up as Leyma Coruña’s main offensive engine, finishing with 21 points and earning team MVP honors with an 18 valuation, as noted by the club’s official match report.
Supporting contributions across the floor included 15 points from TJ Shorts, 10 from Kam Taylor, 9 from Dylan Osetkowski, 7 from Neal Sako, 7 from Álvaro Cárdenas, 4 from Lucas Marí, 3 from Moore, 7 from Josep Puerto, 13 from Mo Gueye, and 5 from Jasiel Rivero for Valencia, while Coruña received 13 points from Alonzo Verge, 15 from Tim Jorgenssen, 2 from Kārlis Siliņš, 18 from George Conditt, 7 from Dino Radoncic, 9 from Oleksandr Skapintsev, and 12 from Jacobo Díaz, with no points recorded for Jou, Cuevas, and debutant Eric del Castillo in the final stretch.
Trailing by nearly 20 points entering the final period, the Galician side mounted a challenge. Jacobo Díaz opened the fourth quarter with an accurate jumper, sparking a 1-7 run alongside Verge. Cadena SER reported that the visitors trimmed the deficit to eleven points with seven and a half minutes remaining, briefly threatening an upset while Valencia guard Kam Taylor sat on the bench with four personal fouls.
Any hopes of a complete comeback were quickly extinguished. TJ Shorts stepped in to steady the hosts, while Puerto drained a corner three-pointer to push Valencia past the century mark. Late scores from Dino Radoncic and Verge proved insufficient as Valencia comfortably closed out the contest, a physical finish that saw local player Lucas Marí disqualified after picking up his fifth foul in the 39th minute.
Valencia mantiene su racha de cinco victorias en la Liga Endesa
The win extends Valencia’s streak in domestic play to five consecutive victories, keeping them firm in second place in the Liga Endesa standings under coach Xavi Albert.
Prior to the match, Valencia guard Mario Saint-Supéry warned teammates about the dangers of facing an underestimated opponent. “El Leyma Coruña puede ser un equipo engañoso”, Saint-Supéry told infobae, describing them as a talented group capable of surprising higher-ranked rivals.
“El año pasado fue histórico, pero las comparaciones son odiosas y siempre lo digo”, Saint-Supéry said.
Leyma Coruña jugó contra el Valencia Basket.
