Two teams with the same record will go at it on Thursday night when Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (4-6) hosts Valencia Basket (4-6) in Round 11. Partizan had a poor tour of Spain last week, which concluded with a 105-97 loss at Real Madrid despite Zech LeDay's performance of 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Valencia also lost to Real last week, but the latter loss was against Zalgiris at home, 76-80, despite Chris Jones's 19 points and 7 assists. This will be the very first time that Partizan and Valencia face each other in the EuroLeague.
Partizan, Valencia set for first EuroLeague encounter
Article
3 mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 34
Group Regular Season
l
l
l
w
l
w
l
l
l
w
Partizan is leading the league from beyond the arc with 41.1% accuracy from that range, so it will be one of its primary weapons against Valencia. The hosts will have to watch the aggressive defense of the visitors (7.1 spg.) and try to achieve better ball circulation to improve their 14.7 assists on average. However, Valencia is last in average blocks (1.3) so the hosts could have an opening for their fifth win in the paint.
Valencia will be facing a hot atmosphere in Belgrade but will have to focus on getting its fifth win. Partizan boasts the fifth-best offense in the league and also shoots better from all ranges, so the visitors will have to tighten up on defense and make life uncomfortable for Partizan shooters. The absences of Martin Hermannsson and Sam Van Rossom due to injury will make life more difficult for Valencia's backcourt.