Valencia Basket registered its first win in Group D by edging Telenet BC Oostende 75-62 at home on Tuesday. Valencia ties with Asvel Basket for second place at 1-1 each, one win away from undefeated leader Lukoil Academic. Oostende dropped to 0-2 and needs to bounce back right away to keep its chances alive. Tiago Splitter paced the winners with 15 points on 6-of-6 two-pointers. Nando De Colo added 11 while Nik Caner-Medley had 10 for Valencia. Jason Rich had 16 points for Oostende while Kennedy Winston added 11. Caner-Medley and Splitter dominated the paint in the opening quarter to make Valencia get a 19-16 margin after 10 minutes. Florent Pietrus shined in the second quarter, leading a 7-0 run that gave Valencia the lead for good, 35-27. A layup by Splitter fixed the halftime score at 40-31. Oostende rallied after the break and a three-pointer by Dusan Sakota completed the guests' comeback, 48-49, late in the third quarter. Rafa Martinez and Serhiy Lishchul fueled an 8-0 run that gave Valencia a safe lead, 65-56, and Splitter sealed the outcome in crunch time.
Rich got Oostende going with a jumper that Rodrigo San Miguel bettered than with a three-pointer for a 3-2 Valencia lead. Chris Booker sank a jumper but back-to-back layups by Lishchuk and De Colo gave Valencia a 7-4 lead. Rich struck from downtown and Dusan Djordjevic matched Caner-Medley's basket with a layup to tie it at 9-9. Rich sank his second triple but Caner-Medley followed a jumper with a dunk to restore a 13-12 Valencia edge. Splitter scored twice in the paint and Caner-Medley added a layup but Winston and Dragisa Drobnjak kept Oostende within 19-16 after 10 minutes. San Miguel and Winston free throws early in the fourth quarter but back-to-back layups by Quentin Serron and Booker put the guests back ahead, 21-22. Splitter and Florent Pietrus stepped up for Valencia but Booker and Djordjevic kept Oostence as close as 28-27. Rihards Kuksiks and Pietrus fueled a 7-0 run that gave Valencia some fresh air, 35-27. Winston made 3-of-4 free throws that Martinez matched with a bomb from downtown. Another easy basket by Splitter boosted the hosts' lead to 40-31 at halftime.
De Colo shined with an off-balance three-point play right after the break but a layup by Drobnjak and a three-pointer by Veselin Petrovic gave Oostende some hope at 43-36. Booker scored off a steal in an 1-13 Oostende run in which Rich had 4 points and Dusan Sakota added a layup to tie the game at 44-44. Caner-Medley tried to change things with free throws but a red hot Rich matched that with a long jumper. Valencia kept missing open shots but free throws by Kuksiks put the hosts back ahead, 48-46. A three-pointer by Sakota, however, completed the guests' comeback, 48-49. Kuksiks answered from downtown but a layup by Dusan Katnic tied it, 51-51, after 30 minutes. San Miguel and Winston traded jumper early in the fourth quarter and a backdoor layup by De Colo helped Valencia to get a 55-53 edge. Lishchuk shined with a put-back layup but a three-point play by Katnic brought Oostende within 57-56. Pietrus scored again and a jumper by Martinez gave Valencia some fresh air at 61-56. Lishchuk dunked it and a layup by Martinez broke the game open, 65-56. Winston nailed a jumper that Splitter matched with a jump hook. Splitter followed free throws with an easy basket that sealed the outcome, 71-60, as Oostende never recovered.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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