Valencia is hot from long range to top Trento

Valencia Basket hit 12 three-pointers to get back to its winning ways and defeat visiting Dolomiti Energia Trento 87-66 on Tuesday night. The win improved Valencia to 4-1 in Group C, while Trento dropped to 1-4. The hosts had five scorers in double digits with Will Thomas collecting 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and Bojan Dubljevic posting 15 points and 6 rebounds. Dustin Hogue was Trento's top scorer with 13 points.

Will Thomas hit a pair of triples in the opening minutes for the hosts, but threes from Devyn Marble and Diego Flaccadori put Trento up 10-14. Marble's basket extended the visitors' lead to 15-21 in the final minute of the first quarter. But Valencia did not let Trento pull away, as Sam Van Rossom hit a triple to start the second quarter and back-to-back downtown shots from Dubljevic and Van Rossom gave the hosts a 29-27 advantage. Louis Labeyrie's energy helped Valencia take advantage for good, and the hosts started to pull away with back-to-back triples from Fernando San Emeterio and Dubljevic to end the first half up 45-37. Baskets from Will Thomas and San Emeterio established a 12-point lead for Valencia at the start of the third quarter. Davide Pascolo had a three-point play and Marble cut it to 49-42. Trento kept threatening, but Alberto Abalde hit a pair of triples to get the margin back to 10 points and so did Matt Thomas whose three opened a 62-52 advantage late in the third quarter. Trento was hanging around, but the hosts opened the final quarter with a 9-0 run, including 5 consecutive points from Layberie to open a 71-54 lead and assume full control of the game. A three from Matt Thomas made it 76-56 with six minutes to go and Valencia cruised the rest of the way.

Game-changing sequence

Trento was hanging around and was within 62-54 after three quarter. However, at the start of fourth Valencia forced three consecutive turnovers, while converting its first three possessions, including a steals plus fastbreak layup from Van Rossom. A three-point play from Layberie opened a 71-54 margin, capping a 9-0 run for which Valencia needed only 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Movers and shakers

Apart from Will Thomas and Dubljevic, Valencia had many contributors in the victory. Matt Thomas netted 14 points, Van Rossom had 11 points and 4 assists in only 16 minutes on the floor, and Alberto Abalde finished with 10 points.

Difference-making stat

Valencia took 10 fewer field goals in this game, however, it still made 3 more shots than the visitors. The biggest difference was the three-point shooting, where Valencia nailed 12 of 26 triples, while Trento made only 6 of 23 three-point attempts.

Next game

In Round 6 both teams will play on the road. Trento travels to the Serbian capital to face Partizan NIS Belgrade, while Valencia visits LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.