Valencia Basket keeps building in the preseason against Casademont Zaragoza in Teruel (80-98)

Valencia Basket wrapped up its second preseason game with a victory over Casademont Zaragoza by 80-98 in the fifth edition of the Pepe Lanzuela Memorial, with six players scoring in double figures. The taronja team was able to count on its five Spanish internationals, and saw the debut of Yankuba Sima in orange, though still without Darius Thompson, as well as three players who could not take part in this evening’s game due to different physical issues (Jean Montero, Nate Sestina, and Nate Reuvers). On top of that, Brancou Badio and Xabi López-Arostegui had to leave during the game. Youngster Jorge Carot rounded out the 12-man roster in Teruel.

Coach Pedro Martínez started the game with a lineup of Omari Moore, Kameron Taylor, Xabi López-Arostegui, Matt Costello, and Neal Sako. Xabi assisted Sako for the team’s first basket, and Costello hit the first three-pointer for Valencia Basket, but Turkish forward Kabaca’s points kept the game even early on. Moore, with a tip-in and an assist for another Costello three, sparked a run that Taylor extended with a triple of his own and an alley-oop finished by Sima for his first basket as a taronja player. Zaragoza’s timeout with 4-15 on the scoreboard at minute six didn’t change the momentum, which continued with a reverse layup by Brancou until Robinson stopped the 0-15 run from the free throw line. Zaragoza managed back-to-back baskets to make it 11-17, but Moore and Pradilla held the lead as Valencia closed the first quarter ahead 12-23.

Taylor capitalized on two individual plays to stretch the lead again, aided by the defensive presence of Nogués-González, though turnovers and missed shots followed, forcing Martínez to call timeout at 15-27 in the 14th minute. Even after the break, Zaragoza closed the gap until Xabi answered with a three, matched immediately by Stevenson. Captain Puerto nailed another from deep, and an unsportsmanlike foul on López-Arostegui turned into a four-point play after a Moore layup, pushing Valencia’s lead higher before a dunk by Stevens. Omari kept leading offensively to hold the gap at 17, but Zaragoza trimmed it slightly to 27-42 at halftime.

Pradilla’s layup, followed by a triple and a dunk off a steal from De Larrea, pushed the lead past 20 in the opening minute of the second half. Despite another Zaragoza timeout, Brancou added a three to make it 27-52 before Yusta scored Zaragoza’s first basket of the third quarter, ending a 0-10 run. Xabi López-Arostegui’s scoring kept the difference steady, with Costello and Moore adding to it slightly, though Zaragoza finally found some rhythm on offense. Still, layups from Carot and De Larrea gave Valencia a 46-67 advantage heading into the final ten minutes.

A three and a layup from Puerto steadied Valencia as Zaragoza tried to rally. Brancou then had to leave with a pull in the back of his right thigh, and Sako converted a pass from De Larrea to force another Zaragoza timeout. Xabi also drained a triple before exiting the game with a cut on his left hand suffered in a rebound battle. Valencia ran the floor well, with Costello scoring twice and Taylor adding a three-point play to extend the lead to 23 heading into the last five minutes. Taylor and Moore kept fueling the offense, while Costello and De Larrea also reached double figures, sealing the game with an 80-98 victory.