Tavares Makes History, Galician Derby, and Brizuela's Heroics Define Liga Endesa Matchday 6

Matchday 6 of Liga Endesa will go down in history for a block. At the start of the third quarter of Real Madrid-Burgos, Walter Tavares reached 739 blocks and surpassed Fran Vázquez's 738. The rest of the weekend featured a Galician derby with Lugo flair, a comeback at the Coliseum, and Perasović's first victory at Baskonia. The standings are tightening: after Real Madrid, seven teams sit at 4-2.

Casademont Zaragoza 107-78 FIATC Girona

Casademont Zaragoza opened the matchday with one of their most complete performances of the season. After an even first quarter (23-21), Gonzalo García's team extended their lead in each period, with ball movement flowing with a fluidity that Girona never found: 27 assists to 9. Guillem Vives led and scored (21 points), Jaworski added 17, and Birutis posted 15 points and 8 rebounds. For Girona, Jassel Pérez (19) and McClung (16) were the only ones who found the basket with regularity.

UCAM Murcia 125-98 iLERNA Lleida

UCAM Murcia shook off the bitter taste of a European loss to Peristeri with an offensive display. A first quarter of 34-21 and a final quarter of 40 points produced a lopsided scoreline, with a lead that reached 30. Howard Sant-Roos was the game's best player, with 24 points and 5 of 6 from three-point range, well supported by Michael Forrest (22) and Dylan Ennis (19). Lleida, which gave up 122 points to Real Madrid in the previous matchday, once again allows over 120 points.

Leyma Coruña 93-89 La Laguna Tenerife

The Coliseum witnessed a comeback. La Laguna Tenerife led for more than 27 minutes and built a 12-point lead, thanks to the outside shooting of Kyle Guy and Wesley van Beck, and entered the final quarter with a nine-point advantage (64-73). Then Alonzo Verge appeared, finishing with 26 points, 12 assists, and a rating of 34, and was named Player of the Matchday. With control of the boards (44-28) and points from Conditt and Šiliņš in the paint, Leyma put together a final quarter of 29-16.

Also read:

• Tavares Makes History and Real Madrid Beats Burgos (90-79)
• Alonzo Verge Jr., Player of Matchday 6
• Río Breogán Crushes Monbus Obradoiro with Spectacular Third Quarter (90-110)

Monbus Obradoiro 90-110 Río Breogán

The first Galician derby of the season was decided in the third quarter. After an even first half, which Breogán closed with a seven-point lead (43-50), Luis Casimiro's team came out of the locker room with a 19-32 run that broke the game open. Tevin Brown (22 points) and Fran Alonso (19) led a team that made 16 three-pointers and surpassed 100 points again. For Diego Epifanio's Obradoiro, Jordi Soriano's 22 points and Álex Barcello's 18 were not enough, and the team has now lost two straight.

Asisa Joventut 78-81 Surne Bilbao

Surne Bilbao raided the Olímpic de Badalona in a game with six lead changes. Joventut went into halftime ahead (44-38) after a second quarter in which they held their opponent to 11 points, but Bilbao responded with a third quarter of 29-17 that gave them control. Tryggvi Hlinason was the most valued (13 points, 8 rebounds, and a rating of 22) and DJ Hilliard the leading visiting scorer with 17. Nico Laprovittola scored 22 points and Ricky Rubio 13, but Joventut, shooting 10 of 35 from three-point range, falls to 2-4. Nikola Radičević made his debut with 10 minutes on the court.

Real Madrid 90-79 Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos

The record-setting game was not a formality for Real Madrid. Without Maledon, Jantunen, or Nick Smith Jr., the leaders scored just 14 points in the first quarter and didn't take the lead until 2:25 before halftime. A 12-0 run gave them the advantage at the break (39-31), and after the tribute to Tavares, with his family on the court and the record ball in Llull's hands, the whites extended their lead to a maximum of 18. Luwawu-Cabarrot (17) and Shulga (14) were the leading local scorers, while DJ Steward scored 20 points for Burgos.

Kosner Baskonia 106-83 Kids&Us Manresa

Velimir Perasović celebrated his first victory on the Baskonia bench. Kobi Simmons led the way with three straight three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 22 points and a rating of 27. Manresa turned the score around after halftime with a 6-18 run, but DJ Stewart led the response: a 24-4 run that closed the third quarter at 83-64. Yordan Minchev (12 points and 14 rebounds) was the best of a Manresa team that remains winless.

MoraBanc Andorra 79-111 Valencia Basket

Andorra held on for three quarters and entered the final quarter down nine (68-77), with James Akinjo and Artem Pustovyi keeping their team afloat. But Xavi Albert's Valencia Basket had more depth, and a final quarter of 11-34 turned the game into a showcase. Armoni Brooks scored 23 points in 16 minutes and Miguel Saint-Supéry added 17, in a night when the Valencians forced 17 turnovers and built a lead as large as 35.

Unicaja 89-92 Barça

The matchday's finale had the tightest finish. Unicaja dominated the first half, with a lead as large as 12 and a 54-45 halftime score, but Barça tied it in the third quarter (72-72) thanks to three-pointers from Shake Umude and the efficiency of Joel Parra, the leading Barcelona scorer with 17 points. With the score at 89-87 for the home team in the final minute, Darío Brizuela, who played four seasons at the Carpena, hit the decisive three-pointer, and Perry missed the final shot. Unicaja snaps a streak of five straight victories.

Top ratings of the matchday:

Liga Endesa standings after matchday 6: