Fresh from last week's statement-making win in Madrid, Fenerbahce (17-11) will look to keep pushing for the top four against a Valencia team (13-15) battling to stay in the top ten.
Alex Mumbru, Valencia: 'We know this will be difficult'
Seasons
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 29 of 34
Regular Season
Fenerbahce Beko IstanbulFBB
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Valencia BasketVBC
Overview
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The visitor will look to the dynamic Semi Ojeleye to match the hustle of Fenerbahce's do-it-all Nigel Hayes-Davis, who powered the road win against Real Madrid with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and can take the confidence of knowing it has already beaten the Turkish team once this season with a 77-74 victory in Round 2. Brandon Davies top scored on that occasion with 18 points, and he has a key role in the paint against Fener center Johnathan Motley, who has posted double-digit scoring in eight consecutive games.
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce head coach
"Valencia is one of the most physical teams in EuroLeague, one of the best defensively. We need to first of all respond to this level of physicality and play. They can change the defense very well. Also a lot of options with the guards. Another difficult game."
Alex Mumbru, Valencia head coach
"Fenerbahce is a very physical team on all positions and they pair that with talent, both outside and inside. Since Saras arrived, they are using that even more. They have a 96% win ratio at home, so we know this will be difficult. However, we will travel to see if we can play a complete game, focused during 40 minutes, and trying to reach the final stretch with clear options to stay in the game. The start of both the first and third quarters will be crucial for us."
Georgios Papagiannis, Fenerbahce player
"We are coming back after a really good win, an away win against Real Madrid who is number 1 in EuroLeague. We want to keep going forward with his mentality. Especially when we play at home, we want to secure our wins and play a really good game against a really good team."
Jaime Pradilla, Valencia player
"We play against one of the best home teams in the league, plus they defeated Real in Madrid. It will be a very difficult game, they have a great team and we have to go there knowing that it will be a long, tough and difficult games. We know we have a chance to win, but we have to take our time."