Valencia drew first blood in the EuroCup finals with a 68-62 win at home to fellow Liga Endesa rivals Unicaja Malaga in Game 1.
Game 2 takes place on Friday with Malaga needing a win to stay alive in the race to next season’s EuroLeague.
Bojan Dubljevic paced the winners with 14 points and 8 rebounds and also finished the game as the EuroCup’s all-time leading scorer, a distinction teammate Rafa Martinez briefly held during the game, too.
Joan Sastra added 13 points for Valencia, which recorded its 22nd consecutive home win in all competitions – nine of them in the EuroCup.
“The first game is the most important to win. We were the team that played better defence. I think we played really good defence,” Dubjlevic said.
“Now we have to be ready for one more game, and I hope we win it in Malaga. It’s a big pleasure to be the EuroCup’s first scorer all-time, but I don’t think about the record. I just hope that we’re going to win this EuroCup.”
Valencia trailed by double figures early, but came back to tie the game by the end of the first quarter. The hosts led by two points heading into the fourth quarter, but took over down the stretch to claim the victory.
Jeff Brooks paced Unicaja with 11 points with Alen Omic posting eight points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
