Valencia's defense stops Fenerbahce

Valencia Basket grabbed its third consecutive home victory by downing Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 66-52 at La Fonteta on Friday. Valencia improved to 15-14 and has a 2-0 record against Fenerbahce, which dropped to 17-12. Sam Van Rossom led the winners with 17 points. Mike Tobey added 12 while Martin Hermannsson had 11 for Valencia. Jan Vesely led Fenerbahce with 15 points while Nando De Colo had 14 against his former team. Valencia led almost from start to finish, getting a 18-10 lead after 10 minutes and using a 9-0 run for a 37-28 margin at halftime. Nothing changed after the break, as Valencia boosted its margin to 53-41 and kept dominating the game through outstanding defense until the final buzzer.

Vesely got Fenerbahce going with a layup and Lorenzo Brown added a corner triple for a 0-5 lead. Vanja Marinkovic and Bojan Dubljevic, however, fueled a 10-1 run which Tobey capped with an alley-oop slam for a 10-6 Valencia lead. Vesely dunked in traffic but Hermansson buried a floater and Klemen Prepelic sank a triple. De Colo scored in transition but Hermannsson made it 18-10 to Valencia lead after 10 minutes. DyShawn Pierre followed a jump hook with a three-point play to bring Fenerbahce closer, 20-15, early in the second quarter. Danilo Barthel found his first points but so did Nikola Kalinic and Derrick Williams. Pierre and Williams exchanged baskets, before Vesely added a power layup and a jumper to keep his team within 26-23. De Colo bettered Kalinic's layup with a triple and Jarell Eddie tied it at 28-28. Van Rossom and Kalinic fueled a 9-0 run highlighted by Tobey's layup, giving the hosts a 37-28 margin at halftime.

Vesely hit a jumper soon after the break. Brown and Marinkovic traded layups, then Vesely scored in the paint for a 39-34 Fenerbahce deficit. Van Rossom stepped up with consecutive driving layups, making it a double-digit game, 45-35. De Colo struck from beyond the arc and hit a free throw to get Fenerbahce within 45-39 after 30 minutes. Tobey followed a layup with a tip-in early in the fourth quarter. Pierre dunked but Hermannsson answered with consecutive layups for a 53-41 Valencia margin. Eddie and Vesely combined for all the points in a 0-7 run that gave Fenerbahce hope at 53-48. But Tobey took over with a three-point play and Hermansson bettered De Colo's jumper with a three-pointer that made the guests call timeout at 59-50. De Colo scored in penetration but Van Rossom buried a running floater to seal the outcome, 61-52.

Pivotal performer

Sam Van Rossom dominated the game tempo, found easy points in transition and was his team's floor general. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-7 two-pointers, 1-of-2 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws. Van Rossom added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls drawn for a PIR of 26.

Game-changing moment

Fenerbahce managed to get within 45-39 at the end of the third quarter, but Mike Tobey stepped up with a layup and a tip-in. Martin Hermannsson followed that with a pair of layups that broke the game open, 53-41. Valencia controlled the game after that.

Stellar stat

Valencia held Fenerbahce to 52 points, its lowest score since November 2016, when it registered an 86-52 loss against TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Its previous score of less than 52 points dates back to January 2009. Fenerbahce hit just 3-of-23 three-point shots (13.0%) and committed 18 turnovers.

Did you know?

Nikola Kalinic received his Euroleague MVP for February award in a pre-game ceremony that also featured club legend Victor Luengo, whose #15 number is retired. Kalinic is the first Valencia to be named EuroLeague MVP of the month in club history.

Next game

Fenerbahce hosts Zalgiris Kaunas, featuring former center Joffrey Lauvergne, on Thursday, March 18. Ulanovas and, if available, Alex Perez go against their former team, too. Valencia visits Khimki Moscow Region on Friday, March 19 in a rematch of the 2012 7DAYS EuroCup Championship Game.