Morning victory at home to take the lead in the Liga Endesa (96-79)

Valencia Basket secured its sixth victory in the Liga Endesa, defeating La Laguna Tenerife 96-79 at the Roig Arena in a battle for first place. Kameron Taylor was particularly outstanding (23 points), and Valencia managed to stay close despite the visitors' accuracy from three-point range in the first half. They ultimately secured the win by imposing their rhythm and defense in the second half. The game began with back-and-forth play, but the visitors controlled the game for most of the half, opening up a small lead thanks to their three-point shooting (making eight of their first thirteen attempts). However, Valencia Basket recovered with improved defense, narrowing the gap to just one point at halftime. Their defensive intensity allowed them to limit the visitors' outside shooting in the third quarter, and they imposed their own pace, building a lead that reached twelve points. Although the Tenerife team showed their experience in staying in the game and withstanding the first two occasions when Valencia Basket tried to break the game open, Pedro Martínez's men remained solid on defense to put their biggest advantage in the final seconds and end the week with a valuable victory.

Post-game quotes: Pedro Martínez

In the first half, a lot of Tenerife’s success was definitely down to them. This is how they play, and they’re extremely good at it. They moved the ball really well, they have their tactics, and even if you know what they’re going to do, it’s very hard to stop. So that’s to their credit.

But we also have to recognize that we adjusted better in the second half, although they were probably a bit more tired than at the beginning. So I think in the end these things are interconnected, and both factors play a role. For me, credit to Tenerife. I love the way they play, I love the work they do. I admire many of their players—especially one, as everyone knows—but really all of them, and their coaching staff too, because they’ve been playing sensational basketball for a long time. You know what they’re going to do, and they still punish you. They’re a fantastic team, and I’m very happy to have beaten such a great team today, a team having a great season—they’re undefeated in Europe and in the ACB they had only lost two games before today. Before the game, watching how they play, I was thinking it would be very difficult to beat such an excellent team.

Finishing strong in the second half also comes from momentum: when you’re winning, you feel better and the energy, the adrenaline, flows more easily. When you’re losing, you feel worse; your legs seem heavier; it feels like you don’t jump as high for rebounds. And we also can’t forget the energy we get from the Roig Arena in moments of fatigue—which is also interconnected. The energy the Roig Arena gives us takes a bit from the opponent too, because they see that we’re there—fans and team together—going, going, chipping away. In that sense, it’s also positive.