The second quarter condemns Valencia Basket in Monaco (90-84)

Valencia Basket fell onAS Monaco's court 90-84 in a game in which they were unable to recover from asecond quarter in which they were clearly outplayed by the Monegasque team.Despite a clear improvement after the break and having their chances to get fullyinto the game, they lacked three-pointers at that key moment and could not getwithin six. The orange team kept up with their opponent's scoring pace in thefirst quarter with the success of captain Josep Puerto, but they could not keepup in the second half and were clearly outplayed, going into the halftime breakwith a twenty-point deficit. Valencia Basket came out much stronger after thebreak with a push from Taylor and Pradilla and closed the gap on the scoreboardwith a moment of inspiration from Brancou to get within six for the first timein the third quarter. They managed to do so a couple more times but lacked theprecision with four minutes remaining to get even closer, and the home teamsealed the victory in the closing stages.

Quotes Pedro Martínez

“They had a very good first half. They played with good intensity, dominating us one-on-one, with many easy baskets, and we were out of our rhythm because they were scoring easily. The second half was different. We played better defense, we made them miss shots, and it was a good second half. We had chances down the stretch, but we made mistakes like a turnover in transition and a missed easy shot. We were able to get close with three-pointers, and in the end, with expert players, they controlled the situation.”