Seven players combined to make 13 triples for the winners.
Three-pointers support usually strong defense in Valencia victory
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 25 of 34
Regular Season
ALBA BerlinBER
6681
Valencia BasketVBC
Overview
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Valencia Basket played its usual tough defense but uncharacteristically good three-point shooting supported the effort in what ended up being a comfortable 66-81 victory at ALBA Berlin.
Valencia came into the game with the second-best defense in the league, allowing only 76.3 points per game. And Alex Mumbru’s men held a team to 71 points or fewer for the eighth time this season - and the second time doing so against ALBA.
“We pride ourselves on defense. The games we lost we came out not focused on defense. Tonight, our main focus was defense. Our offense will come. We got the stops we needed, we ran and scored easy buckets,” said Valencia’s main leader Chris Jones, who collected 14 points and 8 assists in the win to improve Valencia to 13-12.
Game Videos
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Defense was also big on the mind of the game’s leading scorer Semi Ojeleye.
“The biggest thing is our mentality. Coach got us ready to come out and play defense and that’s what helps our game,” said the forward, who scored 18 points. “We set the tone with our defense. If the shots go in, great. But if the defense is there, it makes everything else easy for this team.”
Limiting ALBA offensively may not have been a major surprise with the German side ranking last in the league in index rating, defensive rebounds allowed, turnovers committed and two-point shooting and second to last in points.
Both Jones and Ojeleye barely mentioned offense in their statements and for good reason. This Valencia team also struggles to put points on the board. It ranked last in scoring at 76.4 points per game and second to last in PIR.
One reason for that lack of offensive production is poor three-point shooting. Valencia entered the game tied for last in made three-pointers per game at 7.2 and was ranked 17th in three-point shooting at 33.3%.
Against ALBA, Valencia looked like an entirely different team. Ojeleye drained 4 three-pointers alone, Jones added 3 from long range and Jared Harper chipped in 2 triples. All told, seven Valencia players hit at least one three-pointer and the team shot 13 of 29 from long range (44.8%).