Valencia Basket Dominates Baskonia, Secures Perfect EuroLeague Home Debut at Roig Arena (111-88)

Valencia Basket faced Kosner Baskonia on Tuesday in their first EuroLeague game at the Roig Arena (20:30), just days after opening continental competition with a hard-fought 94-96 victory in Istanbul against Beşiktaş. Xavi Albert's squad aimed to carry the momentum from their European debut to their home court, following a domestic setback against Ilerna Lleida on Sunday.

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Baskonia arrived with one win and two losses in their opening fixtures. The Vitoria side had fallen to Joventut in the Supercopa and to Olympiacos in their EuroLeague debut, but bounced back on Sunday with a narrow 97-98 victory over Burgos. Paolo Galbiati's team faced their first road test in European competition with the goal of earning their first away win at the Buesa Arena.

Valencia Basket smiled again at the Roig Arena. Xavi Albert's squad delivered a dominant performance against Kosner Baskonia (111-88) in their home EuroLeague debut, securing their second consecutive victory in two EuroLeague matchdays. The orange and blacks controlled the game from the opening tip and imposed their will throughout, maintaining command from start to finish.

Valencia Basket Starting Five: TJ Shorts, Saint-Supery, Taylor, Mirotic, and Reuvers.
Kosner Baskonia Starting Five: Baugh, Duarte, Stewart, Sedekersikis, and Kurucs.

Team Bench Players: Sima, Mo Gueye, Cárdenas, and Lucas Marí.

Valencia came out determined from the opening tip, won by the home team, and Nate Reuvers opened the scoring from the free-throw line. Kameron Taylor extended the lead after a steal in transition, and Nikola Mirotic added the first three-pointer of the night. The orange and blacks quickly took control and closed out a dominant first quarter, with Mirotic and Armoni Brooks leading the home scoring. (26-10)

The momentum continued in the second quarter. Taylor pushed the lead to +20 and Brooks extended it further from beyond the arc, while Saint-Supery also joined the three-point barrage. Baskonia found no answer to Valencia's offensive onslaught and trailed by 19 at halftime. Mirotic and Brooks, with seven points each, led the home team's scoring. (52-33)

After the break, Baskonia attempted to cut into the deficit with the opening basket of the third quarter, but Jasiel Rivero answered immediately with a 2+1. Valencia maintained control and continued to extend their advantage to 20 points with two minutes remaining. Xavi Albert's team entered the final quarter with a 23-point cushion and complete command of the game. (83-60)

The fourth quarter confirmed Valencia's superiority. Mirotic punished from three-point range to establish the largest lead to that point, +29 (94-65), forcing the visiting bench to call timeout. Valencia continued to find points and surpassed the 100-point mark thanks to Gonzalo Corbalán, who made it 101-74 and capped off the scoring from all home players.

Josep Puerto also left his mark with a spectacular three-pointer for 106-83 with two minutes remaining, before Osetkowski put the finishing touch with another shot at the buzzer, a three-pointer from the German. (111-88)

Valencia Basket secured their second consecutive EuroLeague victory and delivered a solid performance in their first continental game at home. Following the domestic loss to Lleida, the orange and blacks responded with authority and will now travel to France to face ASVEL with the goal of maintaining their perfect European record.