The ACB matchday left a landscape filled with tension both in the relegation battle and in the upper standings, with the triumph of Casademont Zaragoza over Hiopos Lleida (107-91) led by a spectacular Devin Robinson, and the statement win by MoraBanc Andorra in Lugo (97-99) with a decisive three-pointer from Aaron Best. In the upper half, UCAM Murcia (107-91) continues its winning streak with an unstoppable David DeJulius, while Valencia Basket (89-96) raided Málaga with Jean Montero as the key player. Additionally, La Laguna Tenerife (97-94) held off Bàsquet Girona, Barcelona (90-61) and Real Madrid (78-94) asserted their dominance, and Baskonia (88-86) won again in a tight finish to consolidate their excellent moment.
Robinson guides Casademont Zaragoza to breathing room against Hiopos Lleida (107-91)
Casademont Zaragoza secured an important victory on Saturday in their fight to avoid the Liga Endesa relegation spots by defeating Hiopos Lleida (107-91) in a vibrant matchup in which Devin Robinson stood out spectacularly (27 points and 35 rating).
The sixteenth and thirteenth-place teams faced off in a relevant duel in the lower-middle section of the standings, especially for the home side, who arrived after losing at home to Barcelona last week in a disputed game (86-92).
Best feeds MoraBanc Andorra's survival dream (97-99)
With a three-pointer from Aaron Best with just one second remaining, MoraBanc Andorra raided Río Breogán's court on Saturday (97-99), to fuel their dream of staying in the ACB and prolong the agony of the home team, who squandered an excellent opportunity to seal their place in the top division.
The Lugo side dominated for nearly the entire game and enjoyed a thirteen-point lead, but Justin Mckoy's emergence in the fourth quarter rescued MoraBanc Andorra, who showed great patience in their final possession to find Best completely alone in the corner.
La Laguna Tenerife avoids the upset of a combative Bàsquet Girona (97-94)
La Laguna Tenerife narrowly avoided the upset of a stubborn Bàsquet Girona that, despite trailing for much of the game, clung to their chances of victory and even took the lead in the third quarter, but ultimately had to surrender to the experience and depth of the black-and-gold team—which ruled out former NBA player Patty Mills for this matchup—in a thrilling finish (97-94).
Once again Brazilian point guard Marcelinho Huertas, with 21 points, 6 assists, and 26 rating, set the pace for his team—despite already being a reserve on Vidorreta's bench—halting the efforts of American Derek Needham (18 points) and Lithuanian Martinas Geben—another 15 and 9 rebounds—who both fouled out in a heart-stopping finish.
Bassas unleashes Manresa joy in the derby (87-77)
BAXI Manresa, driven by the accuracy of Alex Reyes, who scored seventeen points, won the Catalan derby against Asisa Joventut (87-77) and snapped their poor run of results in Liga Endesa.
DeJulius continues in form to lead Murcia's triumph (107-91)
UCAM Murcia Club Baloncesto, now third in Liga Endesa with 19 wins—five of them consecutive in an ongoing streak—and only seven losses, defeated Coviran Granada 107-91, the league's bottom team with three wins in 26 matchdays, in a game in which the Murcia side and especially David DeJulius shone once again on offense—31 points and 11 assists for the point guard—and showed they digested the European setback well.
Montero crashes the Carpena party (89-96)
Valencia Basket, with a brilliant performance from Dominican Jean Montero (29 points and 31 rating), overcame a fierce Unicaja at Martín Carpena (89-96) and solidifies their second-place position in Liga Endesa, while the Málaga side deflates in the last playoff spot and face four consecutive losses.
Two very dynamic teams faced off, with direct attacks, short possessions, and especially Valencia, with baskets of tremendous individual quality. The three-point firepower of the orange side, and above all Montero's exhibition of scoring, decided the game.
Barcelona shines from start to finish against Surne Bilbao (90-61)
Barcelona left behind on Sunday the blow of the two losses that definitively closed their access to the Euroleague 'Top-6', by imposing themselves with authority over Surne Bilbao (90-61) to reconcile with Palau Blaugrana and set their sights on the Liga Endesa playoff race.
The blue-and-garnet side notched their eighteenth victory after a one-sided game, built on collective improvement that allows them to open a three-win advantage over the cutoff line held by the Basque team, with one game in hand and eight matchdays remaining in the regular season.
With Youssoupha Fall (17 points), Joel Parra (16), and Will Clyburn (10) surpassing double figures in scoring, the team coached by Xavi Pascual, who reached 300 wins in the ACB.
Forrest neutralizes Ché García's effect in an explosive finish (88-86)
Trent Forrest pulled off another magic trick with seven seconds remaining to score a basket with a personal foul that set the final 88-86 in favor of Kosner Baskonia, who suffered against a reactivated Dreamland Gran Canaria that, in the debut of Argentine Ernesto 'Ché' García on the bench, nearly pulled off the upset at Buesa Arena.
The Vitoria side reacted after halftime and evened the forces in a game that was dominated by the yellow team during the first half.
The blue-and-yellow side couldn't break through and it came down to a coin flip that fell on the Basque side thanks to the emergence of Kobi Simmons, who finished with 21 points, before Forrest's acrobatics.
Ché García's team showed much of the qualities they couldn't display during the season and the Argentine's arrival unleashed the team, led by Chimezi Metu and Isaiah Wong.
Real Madrid imposes its law in Burgos with Hezonja in command (78-94)
Real Madrid defeated San Pablo Burgos 78-94 in the ACB, in a game decided in the second half by white team superiority led by Mario Hezonja, who scored 20 points. Sergio Scariolo's side reinforces their leadership with a solid away victory against a rival that competed during the first half.