Valencia Basket Rallies to Beat Morabanc Andorra 84-79 After 17-Point Deficit

Morabanc Andorra suffered an 84-79 defeat to Valencia Basket at Roig Arena, blowing a 17-point lead early in the third quarter for their eighth loss of the season.

The Andorran side dominated the early stages, surging to a 4-12 edge in a chaotic first quarter despite Valencia grabbing seven offensive rebounds. Badio's buzzer-beater gave the hosts an 18-16 lead after 10 minutes. Morabanc countered with sharp outside shooting from Kuric and Best, building a seven-point gap at 30-37 that forced a Valencia timeout. The visitors extended their advantage to 13 points at halftime (32-45).

A 0-4 burst after the break pushed the margin to 17 (32-49), but Valencia responded with an 11-0 run fueled by Andorran errors, closing to 43-49. Morabanc regained a 10-point cushion at 43-53, only for an 8-0 reply to trim it to two by quarter's end (53-57).

Valencia took over in the fourth with an 11-2 opening surge, flipping the score to a 64-59 lead and prompting a timeout from coach Joan Plaza. The period turned into a back-and-forth battle, with Kuric (19 points) and Evans (12) leading Andorra's fightback alongside Okoye and Kostadinov (both 10). Valencia's Badio (22), Pradilla (12), and Montero (10) proved decisive. The score tied at 74-74 with three minutes left, but Valencia hit key threes, including Badio's off an offensive rebound, to pull away. Morabanc narrowed it to 84-79 on late free throws and Kostadinov's 2+1, but Okoye's final three rimmed out.

**Valencia Basket 84**: Badio 22, Pradilla 12, Montero 10, Taylor 9, Moore 9, Costello 6, Thompson 6, López-Arostegui 5, Reuvers 3, Sako 2, Sima 0, Nogués 0. **Morabanc Andorra 79**: Kuric 19, Evans 12, Best 10, Okoye 10, Kostadinov 10, Pustovyi 6, Guerrero 6, Pons 4, Luz 2, Udeze 0, Chumi O. 0, Ganal 0. **Partials**: 18-16, 14-29, 21-12, 31-22. **Officials**: Arnau Padrós, Javier Torres, Andrés Fernández Carretero. **Attendance**: 10,292.

The loss capped Morabanc's 2025 schedule, leaving them 4-8 in antepenultimate place. Coach Plaza praised the team's competitiveness: "We have shown we can compete against any rival. If we play orderly and defend like that, leaving a team averaging 100 points on 84, we are capable of anything." They face Hiopos Lleida at home on Friday before visiting Baskonia on Sunday.