Morabanc Andorra Blows 17-Point Lead in 84-79 Loss to Valencia Basket

Morabanc Andorra fell 84-79 to Valencia Basket at Roig Arena, blowing a 17-point lead early in the third quarter for their eighth loss of the season and closing 2025 at 4-8 in antepenultimate position.

The visitors dominated the first half with sharp perimeter shooting from Kyle Kuric and Aaron Best, who combined for key triples despite Valencia grabbing seven offensive rebounds in the opening frame. After trailing early at 4-12, Andorra edged ahead 18-16 at the first break on Jean Montero's back-to-the-basket play. They pulled away with a 14-29 second-quarter partial, highlighted by contributions from Shannon Evans II, Dejan Kostadinov, Artem Pustovyi and Best, reaching halftime up 32-45.

A 0-4 burst pushed the margin to 32-49 shortly after the restart, but Valencia countered with an 11-0 run fueled by Andorran turnovers and triples from Montero and Drew Reuvers. Andorra regained a 10-point edge at 43-53 on Okoye's scoring and Oriol Pons' efforts, only for an 8-0 reply to trim it to 51-53. The quarter ended 53-57 after Costello's buzzer basket.

Valencia flipped the script in the fourth with an 11-2 opening run, taking a 64-59 lead on Jaime Pradilla's strong play and forcing Joan Plaza to call timeout. The period turned into a back-and-forth battle, with Kuric's 19 points and Evans' 12 keeping Andorra alive alongside 10 each from Best, Okoye and Kostadinov. Valencia's Montero (10), Pradilla (12) and Badio (22) stepped up late, knotting at 74-74 with three minutes left. Badio and Montero hit quick threes, including Badio's off a second-chance, to pull ahead. Kostadinov's 2+1 and late free throws closed to 84-79, 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.

Plaza praised the defensive effort in holding a high-scoring Valencia to 84 points, saying the team proved it can compete with anyone if it stays disciplined and limits turnovers. He stressed translating those fragments into full games, starting with Friday's home clash against Hiopos Lleida before Sunday's trip to Baskonia.