Huertas Says Goodbye to Tenerife as Baskonia-Madrid Headliner Looms

Liga Endesa returns after the European week with Real Madrid as the only unbeaten team. Five teams sit behind them at 5-2, including Kosner Baskonia, who host Madrid on Sunday to close out the matchday. Before that, on Saturday, Marcelinho Huertas plays his final game with La Laguna Tenerife, and Sunday features a direct battle at the bottom between Lleida and Manresa.

Saturday, November 14

Río Breogán-San Pablo Burgos (18:00, DAZN). Breogán (4-3) returns to the Pazo after falling at the Palau against Barcelona, in a game where they competed until the final buzzer. They host a Burgos side in poor form: after losing to Valencia at the Coliseum, they fell to Le Mans this week. The Burgos team sits at 2-5 in the league and needs a road win to avoid falling further behind.

MoraBanc Andorra-La Laguna Tenerife (19:30, DAZN). This is a special game for Huertas, as it will be his last in a Tenerife jersey before heading to Dubai Basketball. Jaka Lakovič's team arrives in good form: they beat Joventut in the last matchday and won in Šiauliai in the EuroCup this week without the Brazilian. Andorra (1-6) lost in the final second in A Coruña on a three-pointer by Caio Pacheco at the buzzer, and needs a win to escape the bottom zone.

Asisa Joventut-Casademont Zaragoza (21:00, DAZN and Movistar Plus+). Penya (2-5) has a problem in the league: they fell in La Laguna and have lost five of their seven games. They host one of the teams in best form, a Zaragoza side (5-2) that beat Unicaja at the Príncipe Felipe and sits in the group chasing Madrid. Joventut, unbeaten in the BCL, needs to bring that level to the league.

Also read:

• Marcelinho Huertas closes his chapter at Tenerife
• Rolands Šmits brings interior power to Kosner Baskonia
• Real Madrid cruises past Red Star (105-84)

Sunday, November 15

Ilerna Lleida-Kids&Us Manresa (12:00, DAZN and TV3). This is a direct matchup between two teams at 1-6, and the loser falls further behind. Diego Ocampo's Manresa arrives in better shape: they won their first league game against Obradoiro after two overtimes and came back against Bosna in the EuroCup this week. Lleida, who competed against Baskonia in their last outing (93-98), is searching for a center on the market and needs a home win.

Valencia Basket-Leyma Coruña (12:00, DAZN). Valencia (5-2) returns to the league after another strong European night, a 102-87 win over Bayern, though they remain without Nikola Mirotić and Nate Reuvers. Leyma Coruña (3-4) arrives with two straight wins, the latest on a three-pointer by Pacheco against Andorra. At the Roig Arena, a much tougher matchup awaits.

Unicaja-FIATC Girona (12:30, DAZN). Unicaja (3-4) fell in Zaragoza in the last matchday and parted ways with Matt Thomas this week. They need a home win at the Carpena to climb toward the upper zone. Girona (4-3) arrives after beating Bilbao, but with an important question mark: according to SoloBasket, Jassel Pérez, the league's leading scorer, has shoulder soreness and his availability is uncertain.

Barcelona-Monbus Obradoiro (17:00, DAZN). Aleksander Sekulić's Barcelona (5-2) plays Friday in Athens against Panathinaikos and will have barely a day and a half to prepare for Sunday's game. Obradoiro (3-4) arrives after losing in Manresa following two overtimes, and at the Palau they want to capitalize on the fatigue of a rival coming off two EuroLeague games in three days.

Surne Bilbao-UCAM Murcia (18:00, DAZN). Bilbao (4-3) lost in Girona in the last matchday, but beat ALBA Berlin this week and leads their BCL group. UCAM (3-4) fell at the Movistar Arena and then dominated Bamberg (98-66) in the BCL. Both arrive with confidence after their European wins, and there's much at stake in Miribilla in the middle of the table.

Kosner Baskonia-Real Madrid (19:00, DAZN and Movistar Plus+). This is the matchday's headline game. Real Madrid (7-0) arrives in fine form after the 105-84 win over Red Star, achieved despite absences of Facundo Campazzo, Théo Maledon, Gabriel Deck, Usman Garuba, and Mikael Jantunen. Baskonia is another Liga Endesa team (5-2) that struggles in the EuroLeague, where they sit 1-10 after losing in Belgrade to Partizan. To make a leap, they've signed Rolands Šmits and Kenan Kamenjas, the latter on loan from Dubai, and Šmits is likely to debut against Madrid.

Liga Endesa Matchday 8