Valencia Basket was starting to be written off in the fight for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, but the Spanish side rose to the challenge and silenced some doubters in Round 29 with an 82-80 victory against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at La Fonteta. In short, Valencia's playoff dreams are still alive.
Valencia entered Thursday night's game in 12th place, having lost its last four games and also dropped its last three contests at La Fonteta. Yet, following its win, Alex Mumbru’s team now sits 10th in the standings with a 14-15 record, just one victory behind eighth-place Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and ninth-place Zalgiris Kaunas, both of whom are 15-14.
“We are happy to stay in the race for the playoffs. It was an important game for us, not only for our mentality, but it’s good to see ourselves in the race to get to the playoffs,” said Coach Mumbru afterward.
Valencia’s long-time center Bojan Dubljevic added: “It’s an important victory for us, especially in the fight for the top eight. I’m really proud of my team, because we fought amazingly against one of the best teams in the EuroLeague.”