Valencia Basket examines its doubts in the lair of the champion
MADRID, 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Valencia Basket will try this Tuesday to appease its current doubts with its first victory in the Regular Phase of the Euroleague 2022-2023, although this happens by storming the field (7:00 p.m.) of the current champion, the Turkish Anadolu Efes.
The ‘taronja’ team has not started the season in the best possible way, especially in the top continental competition where they have lost their first two games, both at La Fonteta, against Cazoo Baskonia and the French ASVEL Villeurbanne.
The outlook is not the best in the Endesa League either, where it has also had two setbacks in four days, also in a row in Bilbao and again at home against UCAM Murcia, so it will be planted in the Sinan Erdem immersed in a dynamic of four consecutive defeats that fail to consolidate his new project under the leadership of Alex Mumbrú, who will experience a very demanding week for his future with the first European doubleheader.
Valencia Basket arrives in Istanbul with a somewhat ‘touched’ spirit and knowing that it will have to forget the last two painful defeats at home against ASVEL and UCAM, both by a narrow margin of one point, although Efes, winner, will face of the Euroleague the last two editions and that in its pavilion is usually very strong.
Ergin Ataman’s team hasn’t started the continental campaign too strong either and has already added a defeat, the one from last day, after an extension, at AS Monaco (95-92), and is ‘diminished’ by the loss of Shane Larkin.
Even so, Ataman still has a high-level ‘arsenal’ at his disposal, led by point guard Vasilije Micic, who has been joined by players like Will Clyburn, the Euroleague’s top scorer to date with more than 23 points per game and second most valued, Achille Polonara or Ante Zizic, who will demand the best defensive version of the visitors, who will come with the losses of Jasiel Rivero and James Webb III.
“It’s a really complicated game because we’re going to the home of the European champion. They have an arsenal outside and inside against which we have to be good on all lines, try to make our inside game work and be able to stop their outside game, which it is very vertical”, admitted Alex Mumbrú in statements provided by Valencia Basket.
The former player believes that “it is important to try to continue building” after the two defeats last week and “play basketball better and better”. “They play to destroy, it’s almost impossible to give you three passes because they immediately destroy your game and make you play worse. It’s something we suffer with. We have to try to be vertical and always try to look for our options,” he said.
Micic, Beaubois, Clyburn, M’Baye and Zizic — possible starting quintet — Polonara, Bryant, Dunston, Pleiss, Balbay, Arna and Tuncer.
VALENCIA BASKET: Van Rossom, Prepelic, López-Arostegi, Claver and Alexander –possible starting five– Dubljevic, Pradilla, Harper, Puerto, Radebaugh and Jiménez.
–ÁRBITROS: Boltauzer, Jovcic y Koljensic.
–PABELLÓN: Sinan Erdem.
