The ex-NBA guard had his best EuroCup performance to date in Round 7
Valentine’s day in Wroclaw as Reyer earn much-needed win over Slask
Ανάλυση αγώνα
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Regular Season
Round 5 of 18
Regular Season
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Slask WroclawWKS
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Umana Reyer VeniceURV
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“We needed a win in the worst way and it showed,” said Kyle Wiltjer after his well-rounded performance helped Umana Reyer Venice overcome Slask Wroclaw to the tune of 92-104 on Wednesday night.
The game saw both teams go blow-for-blow for most of the contest until the Venetians pulled away in the fourth quarter. The scoring burst that took Reyer over the edge was led by American veteran guard Denzel Valentine, who had his first standout performance in the BKT EuroCup since joining this past summer.
The 31-year-old added 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to his 18-point scoring display, which was punctuated by making 6 of his 10 three-point attempts. His confident shooting from beyond the arc added a much-needed spark in a must-win game, as the Italian team attempted to turn its campaign around.
Coming into the game, Valentine had only reached double figures in scoring once in European competition this season. The performance over Slask sparks a real breakout moment in the former NBA player’s Reyer career. Though he only played 21 minutes, Valentine was able to lead the second unit and totally shift the momentum.
“I think it was a team win,” Valentine said. “Everyone contributed. The second unit came in and we played really good defense. We were consistent all game and that’s what got us the win.”
After the game, he received the backing of his head coach Neven Spahija, who was full of praise for Valentine and the rest of the Reyer bench.
“In the last quarter, we finally started to play defense the way we want to play,” Spahija stated. “In that quarter, we did excellent offensively and better defensively. We won almost every category in that quarter. After we suffered in the last two games on the road, we deserved this win.”
Wiltjer agreed with his coach, echoing the pride in his team’s steadiness down the stretch, against an albeit undermanned Slask team.
“A lot of guys stepped up and we played with fire in the fourth quarter. I’m so glad we got the win.”
Though missing three key players, Slask head coach Ainars Bagatskis was visibly frustrated after the game. He felt that the team had prepared properly for the clash, but was ultimately punished for its late-game complacency.
“I don’t really know what to say, as the game was exactly as we planned,” said Bagatskis. “Their offensive talent is really incredible and if you became relaxed, soft or if you were thinking too much, they will immediately punish you. We were in the game for 33 minutes. Some of our guys forgot about who they play against, they made three three-point shots in a row and that changed the game totally.”
The result ends Slask’s perfect home record in the competition, seeing it drop to a 2-3 mark. Valentine and his teammates will be relieved to have improved their record to 2-3 after a tough start.
