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oct 18 2026Valencia Basket needed a win to put behind a difficult week marked by three consecutive defeats across EuroLeague and Liga Endesa. UCAM Murcia's visit to Roig Arena presented an opportunity to react, recover form, and give the fans something to celebrate. However, the Murcia side arrived with a concerning record: they had won six of their last eight visits to Valencia, though not all were played at Roig Arena.
Xavi Albert's squad responded with a convincing performance, dominated from the start, and surpassed the 100-point mark without major difficulty. The victory allowed Valencia Basket to regain confidence and balance their record in the domestic competition, in a game that was essentially decided before the final quarter.
Valencia Basket Starting Five: TJ Shorts, Armony Brooks, Kameron Taylor, Osetkowski, and Sako.
UCAM Murcia Starting Five: Boum, Radebaugh, Nakic, Raieste, and Cate.
Xavi Albert's roster decisions for today: Omari Moore, Mo Gueye, and Lucas Marí out. It's worth noting that Yankuba Sima was traded to Alba Berlin two days ago, and Mo Gueye is heading the same direction.
Valencia came out determined to take control. TJ Shorts opened the scoring with a jump shot and added the next basket for the home team. Dylan Osetkowski extended the lead from three-point range and forced Sito Alonso to call a timeout. Boum responded from beyond the arc to get the visitors on the board, but the orange team maintained its rhythm and Saint-Supéry stood out with a great basket. A 2+1 from Shorts closed the first quarter with an eleven-point advantage. (25-14)
Valencia's superiority intensified in the second quarter. Mirotic opened the stretch from long range and kept adding points, while Taylor pushed the lead to twenty points. Xavi Albert's team found offensive fluidity, increased the pace of play, and left good impressions on both ends of the floor. Rivero, with twelve points, was the leading local scorer at halftime, which was reached with a comfortable advantage after a Brooks basket at the buzzer. (58-36)
After the break, Dylan Ennis tried to reactivate UCAM Murcia with several three-pointers, but Valencia responded by maintaining a wide margin on the scoreboard. At 70-46, Sito Alonso called another timeout due to the home team's dominance. Ennis reached 18 points and Rivero had already accumulated 17 with three minutes remaining in the quarter. The gap continued to grow and the orange team entered the final ten minutes with the game essentially decided. (86-60)
The fourth quarter was a formality for Valencia, although UCAM Murcia managed to reduce the deficit somewhat and got within 16 points. The home team avoided any scares and surpassed the 100-point mark to seal a dominant 116-93 victory. Rivero finished as Valencia's leading scorer with 20 points, while Ennis led the visitors with 28. (116-93)
Valencia Basket got its smile back after a week to forget. The victory doesn't erase the doubts left by the European defeats, but it does represent an important step toward regaining confidence and reconnecting with their best version in front of the home crowd. With a highly productive offense and the game controlled from the opening quarter, Xavi Albert's squad earned their second Liga Endesa victory in four games and improved their record to 2-2.
Now, the orange team must carry those good feelings to Europe. Their next commitment will be Friday at 8:45 p.m. on the road against Paris Basketball, before returning to Roig Arena next Sunday at 5:00 p.m. to host Baskonia in the fifth round of Liga Endesa. Two demanding tests to confirm that the turnaround is here to stay.
