After suffering yet another close defeat, ASVEL (2-10) will again aim to end its long losing streak against a Valencia team (6-6) which did exactly that two days ago.
Alex Mumbru, Valencia: 'Pozzecco gave them energy and confidence'
Seasons
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 13 of 34
Group Regular Season
l
l
l
l
l
w
w
l
l
l
Wednesday's 91-94 home loss against Maccabi, despite 23 points and 9 rebounds from Joffrey Lauvergne, means the French club has now lost four straight games by an average of just 5 points. ASVEL head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco will hope the experience of former Valencia star Nando De Colo (13.8 ppg.) can help end that sequence and drag the team from the foot of the standings. The visiting team showed resilience to overcome Zvezda's comeback attempt on Wednesday, and will be led by ex-ASVEL guard Chris Jones (11.5 ppg., 4.6 apg.).
Alex Mumbru, Valencia head coach
"It will be a complicated game. ASVEL have hardly lost in the French League since the arrival of Coach Pozzecco, they are a phyical team. It's true they just won two EuroLeague games, but at home they always had everyone against the ropes and they even led all game against Maccabi just to lose at the end. They are close to winning lately and we know it will be difficult. We made a big effort against Zvezda and we have to see how we recover. Pozzecco gave them energy and confidence and they have now won yet in their new arena. They are more loose on the court now, they play the break well and they keep playing physical defense, as always. Looking at the standings one would think we must win just because, but games have to be player. It will be 40 minutes of a hard fight."
Boubacar Toure, Valencia player
"At the start of the season we were the best defensive team in the league, but we have faltered lately. In the last game against Zvezda we re-gained those feelings and we must keep building on top of that, and I hope it will help us have more options against ASVEL. It will be a fast, physical game and all their players are athletic. We must be ready for that."