U-BT Cluj with a good chance at Valencia Basket
Valencia Basket will welcome U-BT Cluj-Napoca today in the La Fonteta, in a game that counts for Round 12 of the current EuroCup season.
The hosts have a perfect 10-0 record in the EuroCup and they also lead the standings in the Spanish ACB with a 9-2 record. Pedro Martinez, who won an ACB title with Valencia in 2017, returned for his second stint this summer and so far the team is performing above expectations. Chris Jones returned to the lineup after he was injured in the start of the season and together with players like Matt Costello, Semi Ojeleye, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui or experienced guard Stefan Jovic, Valencia looks like a team that has every chance to win another EuroCup trophy (it would be the 5th time in their history) and go back to the EuroLeague.
The visiting team from Romania had an up-and-down season so far. U-BT lost its first three games, including the one against Valencia in Cluj, where U-BT was leading by 17 points in the second quarter (42-25) but the Spanish team returned and won 105-96. After these three defeats, the black and white team bounced back and won the next three against Hamburg, Hapoel Jerusalem and Reyer Venezia. The team coached by Mihai Silvasan is currently 5th in the standings with a 6-5 record, tied with Turk Telekom and Bourg, the team they defeated last week in a close game that ended 89-86.
Point guard Xavier Simpson has really impressed so far in his first season in Europe. He is the statistical leader of U-BT this season with an average of 18.7 points per game. French guard Adam Mokoka follows him with 12.8 ppg, and American center Zach Hankins has 10.8 ppg and 6 rebounds per game.
While Valencia is the favourite in this game, U-BT cannot be underestimated. They played great in the first meeting between the two teams and possibly they will be more motivated than Valencia, who are comfortably leading the standings while the team from Cluj is fighting to reach the second place in the group that would qualify them directly to the quarterfinals.
Razvan Tabrea
Photo credit: EuroLeague
