BELGRADE, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Serbian Partizan's hope to enter top 16 of the Eurocup is diminishing after a 61-69 defeat inflicted by Valencia on Wednesday in Belgrade.
Valencia, which marked its sixth triumph in Group C will in the next round host Russian Zenit, while Partizan who suffered sixth defeat, travel to France to face Asvel.
The runner-up of Group C, Spanish Valencia started the match against fifth-ranked Partizan in the eighth round of the group stage of the Eurocup in front of some 5,200 fans at the Aleksandar Nikolic hall with an 8-0 series early in the first minutes of the game.
Valencia's lead was maintained thanks to precise field goals of Bojan Dubljevic, although Partizan's Marcus Paige and Jock Landale managed to reduce the gap to four points before the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter Vanja Marinkovic scored two consecutive three pointers, but Matt and Will Thomas of Valencia ensured that Serbian teams stays behind. Partizan managed to equalize at the middle of the quarter, while Djordje Gagic brought the first lead to the home team with a field goal at 30-28.
Partizan started the second half offensively, with Jankovic expanding the lead to four points. Valencia soon annulled the gap with three-pointers of Sam Van Rossom and Will Thomas (40-42), but Paige answered with a three-pointer of his own.
The Spanish team separated again with another shot from the deep by Van Rossom, creating a 4-point cushion for the final quarter.
Partizan broke the gap and created a lead at the beginning of the fourth period thanks to a 7-pont series of Marinkovic, who scored another three-pointer, two precise free-throws and a field goal for 57-52.
Valencia's Alberto Abalde scored a crucial three pointer to reduce the gap, and added a field goal to reset the score once again at 57-57, while Dubljevic brought the Spanish team in front with a three-pointer.
The home team did not find strength to recover and allowed Valencia to score easy points in final minutes of the match.
Best in Valencia's ranks was Van Rossom with 20 points, while Vanja Marinkovic dominated Partizan's ranks with 15 points.
