A complete celebration built on defense to bring down Paris Basketball (98–84)

Valencia Basket earned its 15th EuroLeague victory by defeating Paris Basketball by 98–84 at Roig Arena in a game it led throughout, thanks to two strong opening runs in the first and third quarters and its ability to contain the French side’s late comeback to secure the win and complete the celebration on a night when Pedro Martínez became the coach with the most games in charge of our men’s professional team.

The taronja side took the lead early with a strong opening run and then maintained a solid defensive level to withstand a few minutes of lower shooting accuracy, heading into the end of the first quarter in front. The pattern continued in the second period, but the Parisian team made half of the three-pointers they attempted in that stretch, preventing the home side from extending its advantage and cutting it to eight points at halftime.

Another strong start after the break and a fine defensive effort throughout the third quarter allowed the taronja to stretch their lead heading into the final ten minutes. The Valencian side protected that advantage until, with five minutes to go, Paris Basketball caught fire offensively, cutting the deficit to eight and getting back into the game. At that key moment, De Larrea and Taylor kept their composure against a rival with no margin for error to seal the victory.

Post-game quotes: Pedro Martínez

“We have a team full of people with a lot of desire, with a very strong mindset, and who work extremely well, but sometimes the opponent plays too and doesn’t allow you to defend as well or attack as well. That often conditions performances. Sometimes things are harder and, when that happens, you have to try to adapt. Today we managed to do that because of the way their defense was set up. Just as there are days when the opponent’s defense doesn’t allow us to find certain actions, today it was the opposite.

We played very good defense, we were excellent in the passing lanes, and Brancou did an outstanding job defending their most important player. He did it very well. I think he took an excellent player somewhat out of the game, doing all the work beforehand before he even received the ball, and then, once he did receive it, not giving him any easy drives. He did a tremendous job, but not just him. I think our big men—both Matt and Nate, as well as Neal Sako—also did a very good job collapsing on him and defending the pick-and-roll very high up the floor. That’s always very difficult to achieve, and today, as a team, we played very good defense.”