Valencia Basket made its EuroLeague comeback on Wednesday night with a hard-fought 80-77 victory at ASVEL.
The Spanish team relied on balanced scoring and timely defense to edge past the French side, holding ASVEL to only two points in the final two and a half minutes.
Darius Thompson led Valencia with 15 points, while Matt Costello contributed a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Omari Moore impressed in his debut with 12 points, 10 assists, and 8 boards. Nate Reuvers added 13, with nine coming in the opening quarter.
For ASVEL, veteran Nando De Colo paced all scorers with 17 points against his former club. Glynn Watson added 14 and Bastien Vautier finished with 12 in support.
The hosts started quickly, with Shaquille Harrison sparking a 6-1 lead. Valencia responded through Reuvers, who drained two early threes, and Sergio De Larrea, giving the visitors a 19-18 edge after the first quarter.
Moore found his rhythm in the second, hitting consecutive threes to extend Valencia’s margin to 24-32. But ASVEL replied with an 11-2 run, capped by Watson’s midrange jumper, and carried a narrow 35-34 lead into halftime.
The second half saw De Colo and Moore exchange triples before Thompson took over with back-to-back buckets for a 43-40 advantage. ASVEL clawed back as Watson scored five straight points and Harrison beat the third-quarter buzzer to put the hosts ahead 61-60.
Valencia regained control in the fourth. Reuvers hit a clutch three, Costello added five points inside, and Thompson’s pull-up triple pushed the lead to 73-77. Puerto’s fast-break dunk gave the visitors breathing room before the final possession.
Reuvers split free throws in the closing seconds to make it 80-77, leaving ASVEL with one last chance. But Harrison slipped on his drive to the basket, ending the comeback hopes.
Valencia finished with 50 rebounds to ASVEL’s 35, a decisive factor in the contest. Moore’s playmaking and the team’s balanced scoring helped seal their first EuroLeague win since 2023.
