Victory in a hard-fought game against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade to close the first half of the season (86–73)

Valencia Basket closed out the first half of the EuroLeague with a hard-earned 86–73 victory over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, a result that allows them to reach the midway point of the competition with 13 wins and sit in the upper part of the standings. It was a tightly contested game in which the visitors’ defense made things uncomfortable, and Valencia could only seal the win in the final minutes.

The taronja side took some time to adapt to the level of intensity and physicality imposed by the Serbian team’s defense, which left them trailing on the scoreboard until they managed to match that physical approach and Thompson ignited the Valencia offense. Although Calathes’ playmaking kept the visitors in front at the start of the second quarter, Pedro Martínez’s men gradually found their rhythm from beyond the arc and managed to level the score by halftime.

After the break, the game continued to be played with playoff-like intensity. While Valencia Basket at times struggled to score against the visitors’ strong defense, they stayed in the game thanks to their own defensive effort, and a burst of offensive inspiration from Darius Thompson allowed them to enter the final quarter with a narrow lead. The taronja maintained their defensive intensity to protect the advantage with points from Montero, and when they locked down their basket in the closing minutes, it was Reuvers who definitively sealed the victory.

Pedro Martínez post-game quotes

“It was an extremely tough game. Partizan have a very good team and they clearly showed it today. I think they are a team that, under Joan Peñarroya, is going to keep improving, and today was the first time they really showed their quality and physicality. For us it was a very hard, very complicated game. These kinds of games are extremely difficult, even if in the end it looks like we won comfortably. Winning by 13 points doesn’t reflect reality at all — the game was much closer than that, and with four or five minutes to go it was still very tight and very hard-fought.

I think they played better than us for long stretches of the game, defended very well, and made us feel uncomfortable throughout. We have to be happy to come through a game like this against a very good team playing at such a high level. I personally give more value to the 13 wins we’ve achieved than to our position in the standings. The position at the halfway point of the season is quite anecdotal — if you look at it, we’re only three games away from being out of the play-in with 19 games still to go. So having a three-game cushion right now is not something to celebrate too much.

What I really value is that we’re able to win tough games like today’s, and the great connection we had — which we always have — but especially today. And I value it even more because it’s easier for the fans to be with you when everything is going well. When the game gets complicated, the other team is playing better, you’re not comfortable and things aren’t flowing, having the Roig Arena pushing and helping us makes a huge difference. That’s what I value much more than our position in the standings. With how tight things are, one loss can drop you three or four places. We have to keep going our way — with humility, calmness, and of course, ambition.”