The top six teams and bottom two face off in direct matchups during a Liga Endesa weekend where 14 of 18 table positions could change. We break down head-to-head records, historical precedents, and key storylines for each game.
A spectacular Matchday 28 threatens to shake up the Liga Endesa standings while also deciding the April MVP award. The battle at the top between Valencia Basket (2nd) and Real Madrid (1st)—the best home team against the best road team—will close out Saturday, with the orange squad seeking mathematical playoff qualification for 2026. Pedro Martínez's team holds its own fate: they must win this game.
Also crucial will be UCAM Murcia (3rd) vs. La Laguna Tenerife (6th); Kosner Baskonia (4th) vs. Barça (5th); and Coviran Granada (18th) vs. MoraBanc Andorra (17th). It's worth noting that Casademont Zaragoza and Surne Bilbao will rest this weekend since they already played their Matchday 28 fixture on February 7th. The MIB squad won 82-84.
SATURDAY, APRIL 25
18:00 Unicaja - Hiopos Lleida
🏀 The Matchup: Unicaja wants to use their 1,600th Liga Endesa game to celebrate their 900th victory and snap a five-game losing streak. Facing them is a Hiopos Lleida team fresh off upsets of Barça and La Laguna Tenerife at Barris Nord. However, their last road win came three months ago in the penultimate game of the first half.
📊 The Stat: Ibon Navarro's squad holds a 3-0 head-to-head record in this matchup. In the first meeting, they won in the final seconds with 19 points and 9 rebounds from Balcerowski (88-89). The Lleida club rallied from 15 points down in the second half and entered the final minute with a chance to win.
👤 The Star: Olek Balcerowski himself has accumulated 39 rating points in his last 38 minutes at the Carpena. The center is one block away from reaching 100 in Liga Endesa.
🚑 Injury Report: Ibon Navarro confirmed the absence of Nihad Djedovic amid a flood of question marks: Kalinoski, Tillie, Barreiro, and David Kravish, who could return to action six months after his injury. On the other side, Hiopos Lleida arrives with several players dealing with physical issues, especially Atoumane Diagne, who has been managed carefully during the week.
19:00 UCAM Murcia - La Laguna Tenerife
🏀 The Matchup: A historic six-game winning streak has UCAM Murcia one victory away from matching their best Liga Endesa record. They face what would currently be their playoff opponent, a La Laguna Tenerife team coming off a win over the league leader and winners of 5 of their last 6 games.
📊 The Stat: In the first meeting, the black-and-gold squad TRIPLED the university team's three-point percentage to win 96-80 in a great duel between Huertas (19 points, 9 assists) and DeJulius (26 points). UCAM Murcia leads the home head-to-head series 9-4, but lost their last visit to Tenerife on a Kramer three-pointer at the buzzer.
👤 The Star: Marcelinho Huertas will take over from Joan Creus (103) and Albert Oliver (111) as the third player to reach 100 games after turning 40. This is the first case in Liga Endesa history of a player whose peak performance came at the twilight of his career. Among other things, the Brazilian is nearly DOUBLING his assist average from his time in the league between ages 20-29 (3.4). In fact, he hasn't recorded a zero in the assists column since age 31 in a streak now standing at 359 consecutive games.
🚑 Injury Report: An ankle sprain has prevented Jaylen Hands from training more than thirty minutes this week, as confirmed by Sito Alonso. Despite being questionable, the coach expects to have him available Saturday.
20:00 Dreamland Gran Canaria - Bàsquet Girona
🏀 The Matchup: The result of this game will determine whether Dreamland Gran Canaria breaks their losing streak and avoids the relegation zone, or if Bàsquet Girona essentially seals their Liga Endesa survival.
📊 The Stat: Moncho Fernández's squad recorded their first win in Matchday 4 against the Claret squad (85-81) and already know what it's like to win in Gran Canaria. However, the overall head-to-head record favors the islanders (4-3).
👤 The Star: Pierre Pelos will reach 100 games played in Liga Endesa after three seasons with Dreamland Gran Canaria. The French power forward will become the 5th player with an active streak of three-digit consecutive games after Scrubb (106), Cate (138), Abromaitis (140), and Brussino (160).
🚑 Injury Report: New Girona signing James Karnik can make his debut if previously registered. Juan Fernández has started completing some tasks with the team but remains not fully recovered, while Maric's absence joins Fjellerup's. All available on the Claret side except long-term injured Miquel Salvó.
21:00 Valencia Basket - Real Madrid
🏀 The Matchup: The 6th chapter of the season in this titans' duel featuring the two best teams in Liga Endesa 2025-26. Valencia Basket won the Endesa Supercup final and the continental game at Roig Arena; Real Madrid has won both home games and also the Copa semifinals.
📊 The Stat: Valencia Basket has FIVE consecutive home league games with 100+ points and is one away from tying the ACB all-time record, during a stretch where they've outscored opponents by 137 points (+27.4 average). On the other side, Real Madrid has 13 consecutive road victories—or in other words, half a year without a loss away from home since falling in Vitoria on October 12 (J2).
👤 The Star: Sergio Llull is 8 assists away from surpassing Albert Oliver (2,074) as the 4th all-time ACB assist leader. The podium is completed by Azofra (2,224), Laso (2,896), and Huertas (3,365).
🚑 Injury Report: Pedro Martínez confirmed the absences due to injury of Omari Moore, Jaime Pradilla, and Xabi López-Arostegui against a Real Madrid team with all players available.
SUNDAY, APRIL 26
12:00 Río Breogán - Asisa Joventut
🏀 The Matchup: Both teams come off important victories for their season aspirations. They meet four months after their encounter at the Olímpic, which went the green-and-black way (83-75). A total of 11 players reached double-digit rating that day.
📊 The Stat: Asisa Joventut has won 7 of their last 8 road trips to Lugo, and 16 of 21 total.
👤 The Star: Michael Ruzic has become the Penya's interior reference after the injuries to both green-and-black centers, tripling his output: from 5.6 to 18.8 rating. Thanks to his explosion in recent weeks, the young power forward becomes the 4th green-and-black player to accumulate 50+ rating in a span of two Liga Endesa games before turning 20. Previously achieved by Ricky Rubio (2007), Rudy Fernández (2005), and Raül López (2000).
🚑 Injury Report: New Breogán signing Jordan Walker could make his debut if registered on a roster where Russell is the only absence. "He's doing things at moderate intensity, though he still has a week left. The week went well for the team," added Luis Casimiro. The Penya's interior game remains precarious: Tomic is out and Birgander is questionable due to right foot plantar fascia discomfort that prevented him from training this week.
12:15 Kosner Baskonia - Barça
🏀 The Matchup: After more than 140 battles in Liga Endesa, Kosner Baskonia (19-8) and Barça (18-9) meet in a new game that will determine which team finishes the matchday in 4th place. Only one victory separates them in the standings.
📊 The Stat: The head-to-head record favors Barça by +8, who won at the Palau 91-83. In a decisive third quarter, Barça went from down 4 to up 12 in just eight minutes. Clyburn (24 points) and Luwawu-Cabarrot (21) accounted for 20 of the team's final 42 points.
👤 The Star: Only three assists separate Tomas Satoransky from becoming the 2nd player after Juan Carlos Navarro (1,637) to reach 900 with Barça in Liga Endesa.
🚑 Injury Report: The already-known absences of Tadas Sedekerskis and Khalifa Diop (Kosner Baskonia) and Nico Laprovittola (Barça) remain.
12:30 Coviran Granada - MoraBanc Andorra
🏀 The Matchup: The two teams in the relegation zone face off in the most important game of the season so far regarding the fight for survival. Coviran Granada has turned their fortunes around in recent weeks, winning 3 of 4 home games, while MoraBanc Andorra comes off a road win in Lugo.
📊 The Stat: MoraBanc Andorra holds a +5 head-to-head record and has won 4 straight against Coviran Granada after winning 86-81 in the first meeting in an Evans exhibition (27 points, 6 assists).
👤 The Star: Luka Bozic is the heavy favorite for the April MVP award alongside Melvin Ejim. Both are averaging 30.7 rating points in the three games played so far. The Granada center needs a win this Sunday to reach the 50% win percentage required to be eligible for the award.
🚑 Injury Report: Arturo Ruiz will be without Jovan Kljajic for the rest of the season. Additionally, Amar Alibegovic will be questionable until the last minute, along with William Howard and Jonathan Rousselle, due to left calf discomfort that prevented him from training this week.
17:00 BAXI Manresa - Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos
🏀 The Matchup: BAXI Manresa evened the head-to-head series (4-4) after storming the Coliseum in December in overtime (100-102). It was a tense battle where either team could have won. The Catalan squad had a 19-point lead in the third quarter, but Jackson (26 points) led the comeback and nearly secured the win for his team.
📊 The Stat: Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos last won at Nou Congost five years ago. McFadden and Benite led that raid with a combined 44 points, 7-of-12 from three, 7 assists, and 43 rating.
🚑 Injury Report: Retin Obasohan returns for BAXI Manresa, Louis Olinde is questionable, and Benitez and Brooks are confirmed absences. On the other side, the Burgos club hopes to recover Max Heidegger, who missed the last game; they also have major question marks around Raul Neto due to leg discomfort and Juan Rubio due to a back muscle issue.