Valencia edges Jerusalem behind strong game from Diot

Valencia Basket secured its grip on first place in Group D by holding off Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 84-86 on Wednesday in the Israeli capital. Antoine Diot scored 21 points, dished 6 assists and came up with a key steal late to help Valencia improve to 5-1. Jerusalem lost its second straight game to slip to 3-2. Valencia led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter before Jerusalem rallied to take the lead. The game came down to the final seconds, but Valencia held on from the line. Fernando San Emeterio added 12 points and 8 rebounds, Viacheslav Kravtsov added 11 points and 3 blocks and Joan Sastre scored 10 for the winners. Jerome Dyson paced Jerusalem with 17 points, Lior Eliyahu scored 16, Travis Peterson 14, Amar’e Stoudemire totaled 12 points and 8 rebounds and Curtis Jerrells added 10 points.

The teams traded baskets early with point guards Diot of Valencia and Bar Timor of Jerusalem each scoring twice by the time the scoreboard showed 7-7. Eliyahu’s first bucket made it 11-12 seven minutes into the contest, but Valencia got points from four different players in a 0-9 finish to the opening quarter that made it 11-21. Peterson hit a pair of threes as the hosts rallied to within 19-24, but Diot and Romain Sato nailed back-to-back threes in a 0-8 Valencia push that made it 21-36. Diot’s third three made it an 18-point game, but Peterson hit another triple in a 7-0 flurry to finish the half that gave Jerusalem hope at 33-44. San Emeterio put Valencia up 15 early in the third quarter, but Eliyahu and Peterson started a 12-0 run that Jerrells capped with free throws to make it 45-48. Jerrells stayed hot with a triple to tie the game at 54-54 before giving the hosts their first lead since early in the first quarter. The difference stood at 60-57 entering the fourth quarter. After the lead switched hands twice early in the fourth quarter, Valencia reeled off 7 straight points to make it 66-72, but the hosts came right back to get within 1 with two minutes remaining. Jerusalem twice had the ball with a chance to tie or go ahead in the closing seconds, but steals by Will Thomas and Diot denied the home team and free throws by Thomas with 9.3 seconds left to make it a two-possession game all but sealed the outcome.