After slow start, Mega prove too much for Valencia

U18 Mega SoccerBet Belgrade showed its ready to challenge for its first Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament title by opening the ANGT Finals with a 75-90 victory over host side U18 Valencia Basket. Coming into the tournament with appearances in the ANGT Championship Game in 2017 and 2019, Mega took a first quarter punch from Valencia and needed a 0-9 spurt in the final frame to finally secure the win in Group B. Mega, which struggled with 32 turnovers, was paced by Luka Bogavac with 21 points while Oleksandr Kobzystyi had 19 points, Nikola Jovic picked up 16 points and Tomislav Ivisic chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds. Ivan Alexandrov scored a game-high 23 points for Valencia, which also had Pablo Navarro add 19 points and Diego Rivas pick up 15 points in the loss.

Carlos Campillos and Alexandrov hit early three-pointers for the home side as it was 6-4. Rivas also connected from long range and Mega could not contain the Valencia bombers with Navarro hitting two triples for a 21-10 lead. Mega struggled with nine first quarter turnovers but got back into the game with a 2-12 run to pull within 23-22 and it was 25-22 after 10 minutes. Mega took charge at the start of the second quarter with a 0-15 run thanks to six points from Kobzystyi for a 25-37 advantage. Rivas finally got Valencia on the board after more than 5 minutes with a three-point play, and he added a three-pointer to make it 33-43. But Mega was up 36-48 at the break.

Just like to start the game, Valencia was hot to start the second half from long range with Alexandrov hitting three three-pointers in a 12- 4 run to pull within 48-52. Mega punched back with a 2-10 surge thanks to triples from Bogavac and Kobzystyi to lead 52-64. Bogavac added another long ball and Mega was up 56-71 after 30 minutes. Rivas knocked down yet another triple as Valencia would just not go away and the score was 65-75 with 7 minutes to play. Mega delivered the knockout with a 0-9 run over the next 4 minutes to make it 65-86. Valencia did hit nine straight points but it was still a 12-point deficit with 102 seconds remaining.