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abr 19 2026Valencia Basket celebrated their eighth consecutive victory with a hard-fought 81-84 road win at Bàsquet Girona on Sunday, powered by Costello's 20 points and a crucial three-pointer from Reuvers with 16 seconds remaining.
Pedro Martínez's team came into the game fresh off confirming second place in the EuroLeague regular season and won to consolidate their second-place position in the Liga Endesa with a one-game advantage over UCAM Murcia, before hosting Real Madrid.
Girona, with six players in double figures, matched one of Europe's top teams despite interior depth issues, but fell just short of a major upset in Moncho's 50th game.
Valencia Basket showed their physical dominance early, recording three offensive rebounds in the first minute alone, but poor three-point shooting (3/13 in the first quarter) prevented them from building a lead.
Puerto extended the lead to six points with a three-point play, but Hildreth closed the first quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to set the score at 19-20 in his debut at Fontajau.
The visiting team threatened to pull away with two three-pointers from Costello and Thompson to start the second quarter (19-26), but the Catalan squad responded with a 16-5 run to take their first lead (35-31).
The visitors responded after a timeout and reached halftime leading 40-45 with a three-pointer from Badio on the final possession, their 8th of 25 attempts. Costello had already accumulated 11 points and Valencia had 13 offensive rebounds.
The game remained tight after the break. Girona refused to quit and pulled within three points with eight points from Busquets (51-54), but Valencia Basket extended their lead to as much as eight points (53-61 and 56-64) and closed the third quarter at 59-66.
Valencia Basket, with Costello having an outstanding afternoon, had accumulated 19 offensive rebounds—the same number Girona had allowed on defense.
The game appeared to be heading toward a visiting victory, but the home team fought back with three-pointers from Busquets, Geben, Livingston, and Needham to tie it at 73-73 with five minutes remaining.
The game entered the final minute tied at 83 after Busquets' fifth three-pointer, but Valencia sealed the victory with a three-pointer from Reuvers with 16 seconds left, their 16th of 49 attempts. Livingston had two chances to force overtime with three-pointers but missed both.
81 - Bàsquet Girona (19+21+19+22): Livingston (12), Needham (12), Busquets (17), Susinskas (6), Geben (12) -starting five-; Hildreth (7), Hughes (6), Vildoza (6), Martínez (3) and Brunot (-).
84 - Valencia Basket (20+25+21+18): Moore (5), Badio (8), Thompson (8), Costello (20), Sako (-) -starting five-; Taylor (12), Puerto (7), Montero (7), Reuvers (6), Sima (6), De Larrea (5) and Nogués (-).
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