JERUSALEM, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv achieved an 84-68 home win over Valencia Basket of Spain in the 12th round of the Euroleague on Thursday evening.
The hosts secured their sixth victory in front of 11,000 fans at the Menorah Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, while Valencia stood with five wins from 12 games.
Strong defense allowed Maccabi to end the first quarter 15-10, before Josh Nebo and Lorenzo Brown helped Maccabi enlarge the lead 35-27 by halftime.
Xabier Lopez-Arostegui inspired the visitors to get back to business and cut the margin to 49-47 in the 29th minute.
Maccabi managed to stay on course, ending the third quarter 53-49 before securing the victory.
Brown scored a team-high 15 points for Maccabi, and Darrun Hilliard added 11. Lopez-Arostegui scored 15 points for Valencia.
Former Croatian star Nikola Vujcic, sporting director of Maccabi, was officially inducted into the Euroleague Basketball Legends prestigious company in a ceremony held before the game.
Maccabi will play their next game in Italy against Armani Milano, while Valencia hosts Panathinaikos Athens, both on December 13th. ■
