Valencia Basket finds joy amid so much sadness

In a situation saturated with dirt, sadness and anger due to the consequences of the damage done to Valencia and which has already claimed the lives of 215 people, Valencia Basket this Tuesday defeated Cedevita Olimpia Ljubljana in a match in which they did not manage to find their game until the appearance Sergio de Larrea, who had almost no role before and after, but ended up enjoying some joy and remaining undefeated in the European Cup.

The game started strangely. The heartfelt tribute to the victims of Dana on October 29 and the slow entry into Fonteta, the first major sporting event in the city since the tragedy, did not allow one to ignore the drama that was being experienced outside the pavilion, and although Valencia made efforts to hook their team, it was difficult.

Loyal Nate Reuvers dropped the team in the early action and Pedro Martinez made his debut just four minutes later with Chris Jones, who has not played this season following surgery on his right finger.

Fonteta’s first warm ovation for Jones failed to mask a suspicion that had been present for some time. A team accustomed over these months to playing with little bounce, a lot of circulation and tough ball defense will have a hard time getting used to having him at the helm, and so will he. Cedevita read the discrepancy and, with the help of Nikolic and veteran Jaki Blazic, took advantage of it (11-16, m.7).

Valencia lost the thread and did not recover it without her. Moreover, the Slovenian team, having struck the first blow from the outside, began to do it from the inside with the help of Devin Robinson’s jumper. This position in the Slovenian national team is now occupied by the former assistant coach of Taronja, and then the club’s sporting director, Cechu Mulero.

It was the young De Larrea, a regular starter in these months but not this Tuesday, who brought the spark back to Valencia. The number of boats was reduced, the speed increased and with the help of Josep Puerto’s points the locals opened up a small lead (48-39, m.17).

Dominican Jean Montero pumped him up well in the direction, but the elusive Devante Jones managed to make the guests’ deficit at the break just seven points.

Walking through the dressing room did not stop Valencia, but rather embarrassed Cedevita. A 7-0 run in just one minute under Branco Badio forced Dorde Adzic, assistant coach of Zvezdan Mitrovic, who had back surgery a few weeks ago, to call a time-out to prevent the game from ending, but he did not have enough arguments to stay on court against a local team that was gaining momentum.

With Reuvers upping the numbers again, Stefan Jovic and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui lifted Valencia off the ground and finally turned the tide of the match. First Matt Costello and then Puerto again increased the lead to twenty-five points (82-57, m.28). The third quarter ended with the score 31-10, which also reflected the improvement of the local defense.

With the match already decided, Pedro Martinez once again gave minutes to Chris Jones, who was seen to be more involved in the team’s performance as they once again passed the hundred point mark and remain undefeated at the top of Group B. Little joy for the team. yours among all the dirt.

Technical sheet

109- Valencia Baskets (21+36+31+21): Montero (11), Lopez-Arostegui (14), Ojeleye (13), Pradilla (8), Reuvers (12) – starting five – Jovic (-), De Larrea (5) , Puerto (15), Badio (11), Sestina (2), Jones (5) and Costello (13)

80 – Cedevita Olimpia Ljubljana (18+32+10+20): Nikolic (13), Blazic (6), Radovic (11), Beringer (2), Robinson (16) – starting five – Jones (14), Glas (2), Gnidic ( 4), Daneu (4), Geben (2) and DJ Stewart (6).

Judges: Lottermorser (Germany), Nikolic (Great Britain) and Udyansky (Great Britain). They knocked out guest Nikolic (m.39).

Incidents: The match, corresponding to the eighth day of the European Cup, took place in La Fonteta in front of 4,184 spectators. Before and during the meeting, various events were held to commemorate and support the victims of the dana, which affected several regions of Valencia on October 29, killing at least 215 people and causing enormous property damage.