Three Galician Teams in Liga Endesa After 32 Years

The last time Galicia had three teams in Spain's top basketball division was the 1993-94 season, when Dyc Breogán, OAR Ferrol, and Coren Ourense competed. Thirty-two years later, Río Breogán, Monbus Obradoiro, and Leyma Coruña are back sharing Liga Endesa.

What Happened to the Previous Teams

It's worth remembering how that era ended, as it explains the magnitude of what's happening now.

The three clubs coincided for five consecutive seasons, starting with 1989-90. And in just four years, Galicia went from three elite teams to none.

OAR Ferrol was the first to fall, one of the ACB's founding clubs, relegated in 1993-94 for financial reasons despite finishing fifteenth of twenty in the regular season. Two years later it disappeared completely. Breogán went down as last place in 1994-95, and Coren Ourense followed the same path in 1997-98.

How Obradoiro Made Their Return

The Santiago team returns after two seasons away and does so as champions of the Primera FEB 2025-26, with a dominant record: 28 wins and 4 losses, averaging 92 points per game with Diego Epifanio on the bench.

Much of that core remains: Sergi Quintela, Yunio Barrueta, Álex Barcello, Diogo Brito, Olle Lundqvist, Álex Galán, and Felipe dos Anjos.

It will be their fifteenth season in Liga Endesa. Their best historical finish is eighth place in 2012-13 with an 18-16 record, and their worst season was 2009-10, when they finished seventeenth with 8-26.

And How Leyma Did It

The Coruña side earned their second chance the hard way. They came close to direct promotion by finishing second with the same 28-4 record as Obradoiro, and settled the Final Four on their home court with a fifteen-point comeback in six minutes against Movistar Estudiantes.

Their debut in 2024-25 left a statistic that explains the project's roots: an average of around 7,500 spectators per game at the Coliseum, despite the team occupying a relegation spot during the final twenty games of the regular season.

Carles Marco will face his first experience as head coach in the ACB, and half of the promotion protagonists continue: Guillem Jou, Dídac Cuevas, Caio Pacheco, Paul Jorgensen, Jacobo Díaz, and Dino Radoncic.

Six Derbis on the Schedule

The season features six matchups between the three Galician teams, with the first on November 1st in Santiago:

• Matchday 6: Monbus Obradoiro-Río Breogán (November 1st, 12:00)
• Matchday 13: Monbus Obradoiro-Leyma Coruña (December 20th, 12:00)
• Matchday 15: Río Breogán-Leyma Coruña (December 30th, 18:00)
• Matchday 24: Leyma Coruña-Monbus Obradoiro (March 14th, 12:00)
• Matchday 31: Río Breogán-Monbus Obradoiro (May 2nd, 12:00)
• Matchday 33: Leyma Coruña-Río Breogán (May 16th, 12:00)

The Hard Part Starts Now

The first step is done, but recent history warns of what's to come. Staying up is the difficult part, and all three compete in a league where several of them will fight for survival from the opening game.

There is, however, a new factor compared to the nineties: this season TVG will broadcast one Liga Endesa game in open access each matchday, and debuts coverage precisely with Río Breogán-Asisa Joventut on Sunday, September 27th. Galician basketball returns to the elite, and with a platform to match.