The victors had 18 more rebounds than their opponents
Board dominance was the key as Valencia rolled over Jerusalem
Valencia Basket hit the ground running on its return to the BKT EuroCup by securing a 64-80 victory away at Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, in a game that took place at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria. The visitors’ defense kept Jerusalem to just 29 points in the first half, but it was their dominance in rebounds that allowed the four-time EuroCup champion to clinch the victory.
The Spanish side matched its record for defensive rebounds by collecting 30 boards, which helped them dictate the tempo. Valencia secured 22 offensive rebounds, which provided them with valuable extra possessions.
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“We were very active and very aggressive, trying to go for the offensive rebounds, and that gave us second opportunities,” head coach Pedro Martinez said in the post-game press conference.
In fact, more than one-quarter of their points (24 of 80) came from second chances, with nine of the 11 players who stepped onto the court picking up at least 1 offensive rebound each to deal Jerusalem a blow in confidence.
“I think it’s a really good start to the season,” Valencia center Matthew Costello said after the game. “We played really well on offensive boards, which gave us a lot of extra chances.”
Costello was one of the three Valencia summer signings who stole the spotlight on Wednesday evening. The former Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz center shot 5-for-7 from inside the arc and made 2 triples to finish the game with a team-high 16 points. Three more Valencia players recorded double digits in scoring, with two of them being newcomers. Nathan Sestina paired his 10 points with 6 rebounds in less than 17 minutes, with Jean Montero registering 10 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 5 drawn fouls.
Having kicked off the season in style, Valencia will host Veolia Towers Hamburg next week, as the EuroCup returns to La Fonteta. From the off, the Spanish side has demonstrated that its energy on the court, insistence on fighting for the rebounds and defensive prowess are enough reasons to be considered favorites to go all the way to the title for the fifth time in their history.