LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne recorded its first win of the current Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season on Friday night by downing Valencia Basket on the road in a topsy-turvy game that could have gone either way.
ASVEL edges Valencia in a thriller at La Fonteta
ASVEL rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Valencia 76-77 at La Fonteta. With this result, ASVEL improves to 1-1 in the standings while Valencia drops to 0-2. Nando De Colo led the winners with 16 points against his former team. Youssoupha Fall also shone for ASVEL with a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double. Jasiel Rivero led Valencia with 15 points. Chris Jones added 13, while Josep Puerto and Jared Harper each had 10 for the hosts.
Game Videos
Fall and David Lighty stepped up early, then De Colo struck from downtown for a 9-12 ASVEL lead. Jones and Rivero led a 15-1 run that Jonah Radebaugh capped with a three-point play to give Valencia its first double-digit lead, 24-13. Fall, Charles Kahudi and Obasohan fueled a 2-23 run, which De Colo ended with a triple that made ASVEL get a 38-48 margin right after halftime. Rivero tried to change things for the hosts, getting help from Radebaugh and Harper to put Valencia back in charge, 59-58. Jonah Mathews and Lauvergne provided another lead change, 62-66, soon after that. De Colo followed back-to-back jumpers with a couple of layups for a 72-76 ASVEL edge. Rivero and Harper tied the game, 76-76, with a minute left. Then, with 2.8 seconds left, Mathews hit the game-winning free throw.