The three American point guards led their teams in the opening matchday
The 2026/27 Liga Endesa season marks a historic milestone for Galician basketball, reuniting three teams in Spain's top basketball division for the first time in 32 years. All of Galicia—or almost all, because there's always someone who doesn't—hopes this could be the beginning of a new golden era for Galician basketball. And so far, it's started well.
Río Breogán secured a major victory against the newly crowned Supercopa champion, Monbus Obradoiro triumphed on the road against a likely direct rival for survival, and Leyma Coruña competed well away from home against a EuroLeague team.
Between the two Coruña-based teams there are many similarities, as both are newly promoted, both retain a large portion of the protagonists from their impressive Primera FEB campaign, and some of their signings even have certain similarities. The Lugo-based team is several steps above in terms of league status, having consolidated a strong project with the renewal of much of their stars from last season's brilliant campaign. But if there's something all three teams have in common in this inaugural matchday, it's the prominence of their American point guards who are "almost" making their ACB debuts, since Alonzo Verge had already played some games with Leyma in the 2024/25 season.
Rasier Bolton and Brandon Childress were among the best debutants in this notable matchday in scoring with 21 and 20 rating points respectively. Alonzo Verge finished with 18 and doesn't appear on the list since it wasn't his ACB debut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqVL31esqow&t=170s
Rasier Bolton, replacement for DeWayne Russell as complement to Dominik Mavra
As we indicated in previous paragraphs, both the status and roster composition of Río Breogán has nothing to do with that of their Coruña counterparts. The walled city team has consolidated a stable and successful project since their return to competition in 2021, and this summer their greatest success has been retaining a core formed by Dominik Mavra, Francis Alonso, Aleksandar Aratinovic, Mihajlo Andric, and Danko Brankovic.
Players like Tevin Brown, Andersson García, Aleksa Ilic, and Rasier Bolton have arrived to be important, but not essential, within the well-tuned machinery directed by Luis Casimiro. All of them had a great debut in a dominant victory that increased the hopes of the Breogán fans.
Rasier Bolton was the standout, with numbers of 17 points, 7 assists, 6 fouls drawn, and 21 rating in 22 minutes. His ability to break down defenders in one-on-one situations and in transition made him Breogán's leading scorer with a singularity in modern times for a point guard—he did it without attempting a single three-pointer. His performance gains even more value having done it against rivals like Ricky Rubio, Nico Laprovittola, and Boogie Ellis. He was also the team's best passer with 7 assists, demonstrating his ability to find teammates in open positions.
Alonzo Verge, the element of contention
Leyma Coruña and Epi debuted the Illinois point guard in the Liga Endesa in the final games of the first ACB season in the history of the Herculean city team. That knowledge of the player and his strong performance in the German league made him an object of desire for both clubs. When the media had announced that the dreadlocked star was about to sign with Obradoiro, he was presented by the team coached by Carles Marco.
Alonzo Verge was one of the standout players in the preseason, demonstrating his great qualities for scoring and playmaking, and he didn't disappoint in his first game. He scored 16 points, drew 6 fouls, and distributed 9 assists for 18 rating points. While the Coruña team competed, his performance was brilliant and only dipped slightly in the final minutes when Barcelona pulled away and Leyma made some rushed plays attempting a comeback. It's also surprising, almost like in Bolton's case, that he achieved this by launching just one three-pointer that he missed.
Although Didac Cuevas and Caio Pacheco also had great debuts, there's no doubt that Alonzo Verge will be the primary offensive leader of the team that plays its home games at the Coliseum. His ability in one-on-one situations to finish well on layups or at mid-range and his facility for assisting are those of a star player who will provide great moments for Galician basketball and the ACB in general.
https://youtube.com/shorts/9LYOSRXw6g0?si=YTTZGIMuHiRUtLh9
Brandon Childress, dispelling doubts in the first game
Like every newly promoted team, Monbus Obradoiro presented many unknowns before the start of the season. How the Primera FEB core would perform, whether Joel Soriano would become a dominant center, or what the impact of Efe Abogidi would be are some of the questions that the media and fans were asking, and still are. But perhaps the biggest of them all is whether Brandon Childress is the leader this team needs. Especially because his season was modest, with physical problems, and because there were public reports of understandable adaptation issues.
The response from the Michigan star in the first game was a resounding YES. Childress led a dominant victory as the team's leading scorer and most valued player with 18 points and 20 rating. The Obradoiro point guard made excellent use of the three-point line with a solid 2 of 4, including a great three-pointer that made it 81-90 with 1:05 remaining. The son of Randolph shone more as a scorer than as a passer, but it should be noted that two of his four assists came in the final and decisive period.
Like in Verge's case, although Caleb Agada, Sergi Quintela, and Alex Barcello were very good in aspects like defense and playmaking, there's no doubt that the role of leader of Obradoiro's offense belongs to Brandon Childress, who showed phenomenal shooting, both from deep and mid-range, as well as his ability to draw fouls with five received. This game was a strong statement to show that most of the unknowns about the roster and about Brandon himself can be resolved very positively this season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7uD5Xh2WvE
Electric duels between American stars
From the perspective of Galician basketball, there will be special attention on the derbies that will take place this season, and one of the aspects to watch will be the individual matchups against these stars.
The battles between Alonzo Verge and Brandon Childress promise strong emotions. A priori, their teams, in which they will exercise "command and control," are direct rivals in the fight for survival. There will also be extra motivation, in the case of the Leyma player to confirm the reasons why both clubs wanted him, and in the case of the Obradoiro point guard to know that his rival was the first option the team tried to sign.
The duels of both with Rasier Bolton will also be exciting, because they will always be derbies and the two Coruña teams will try to scratch out victories against a team that is currently favored in the odds. The individual abilities of these three stars promise spectacle at the highest level in these six regular season games.
With a good point guard and a good center everywhere
In this good start to the season, including Leyma Coruña's loss but in which they showed very good level against Barcelona, the three rosters demonstrated good quality, with multiple players shining and standing out above all for their teamwork. But if there was one position that was at the same level of impact and even above in effectiveness, it was the center position.
Danko Brankovic was Río Breogán's best player with 29 rating and everything suggests he could become one of the competition's stars and is one of the clear candidates to become a "new Shermadini." Debutant Aleksa Ilic also had a good debut.
At Leyma Coruña and Monbus Obradoiro we find similarities again. Both have signed as expected starting centers two players with hunger and desire to reinvent themselves and have a more relevant role than they had in previous seasons, especially in Joel Soriano's case. Both are players who stand out for their physicality and their play near and above the rim, and they've also started well. The Obradoiro player posted solid numbers of 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 18 rating, although the most praise went to Felipe Dos Anjos, who was key in moments when his team looked for him as they did in Primera FEB.
George Conditt reached 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 20 rating to confirm the success of his signing, while Coruña fans watched from a distance the good performance of debutant Dmytro Skapintsev with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 rating.
In this position, which we will continue to analyze in upcoming articles, we will also see great individual duels between giants that will be decisive in "Os nosos derbis."