Pedro Martinez's men were too good for Turk Telekom
Valencia blew things open in rock-solid first half
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3 Mins read
Valencia Basket is the last remaining undefeated team in the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup, having leaned on an outstanding first half to demolish Turk Telekom Ankara 87-101 on the road in Round 5.
The Spanish side proved why it is arguably the strongest candidate to win the competition, downing Turk Telekom, the 2023 finalist, behind a spectacular first half in which head coach Pedro Martinez's team did everything well.
First of all, Valencia shot the ball incredibly well, burying 14-of-21 two-pointers (66.7% 2FG), 8-of-13 three-pointers (61.5%) and 6-of-7 free throws (85.7% FT). Ojeleye scored 8 of his 13 first-half points in the opening minutes, setting the tone early. He was one of five Valencia players that scored 5 points or more in the first half.
Valencia was incredibly efficient in all other aspects of the game. It outrebounded Turk Telekom 18-10 in the first half, getting 14 defensive rebounds and allowing Turk Telekom to get just 1 offensive board. In other words, Valencia grabbed 93.3% of all rebounds under its rim. Turk Telekom grabbed 10 of 14 total rebounds under its basket (71.4%).
When it comes to ball circulation, Valencia was near-perfect in the first half, dishing 16 assists and limiting its turnovers to just 6. Turk Telekom had twice as many turnovers (10) than assists (5). The hosts had no first-half steals to Valencia's 4. All that, added to the fact that the guests forced Turk Telekom into low shooting percentages (47.1% 2FG, 33.3% 3FG), allowed Valencia to get a 32-58 margin at halftime, more than enough to control the game until the final buzzer.
When the dust settled, Valencia had broken the 100-point mark for the fourth consecutive game. All 12 Valencia players scored at least 4 points: Ojeleye led the way with 21. Valencia had 11 second-half turnovers and ended up having more (17) than its opponent (17) but its great job before the break gave Turk Telekom no chance.
"We played well for 30 minutes, not for 40. Ok, maybe it is difficult to remain with 100% concentration with the [score] difference is big," Coach Martinez said. "But it has to be a goal for other games in which we have this lead."