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jun 16 2026The Liga Endesa title will be decided between Valencia and Barcelona for the second time since the 2002-03 season. The coin is in the air; heads or tails, the outcome of 2025-26 will be something never seen in the history of the competition
Liga Endesa reaches the final stage of the 2025-2026 campaign with only two possible outcomes: either Valencia Basket's men's team will complete the first back-to-back championship in its history, or Barcelona will become the first club to win the trophy after finishing 5th in the regular season.
The Playoff Final will begin this Thursday, June 18 from the Roig Arena and will conclude no later than Saturday, June 27. The first team to win three games in the series will claim the title.
SCHEDULE
Game 1 VBC-BAR: Thursday, June 18 (8 p.m.)
Game 2 VBC-BAR: Saturday, June 20 (8 p.m.)
Game 3 BAR-VBC: Monday, June 22 (8 p.m.)
Game 4 BAR-VBC*: Wednesday, June 24 (8 p.m.)
Game 5 VBC-BAR*: Saturday, June 27 (8 p.m.)
This is the seventh playoff series between both clubs and the second final since 2003. The Barcelona squad has won almost all previous matchups with the sole exception of the 2017 quarterfinals, the first step in Valencia's historic championship run.
Valencia Basket had home-court advantage in that series as well as in the 2014 semifinals, which concluded with the iconic winning bicycle kick by Marcelinho Huertas at the Fonteta after FIVE road victories. So far, Barcelona has won 5 of 6 series and nearly 74% of head-to-head playoff games (14 of 19).
Round Result
Final 2003 Barcelona 3-0 Valencia Basket
Quarterfinals 2009 Barcelona 2-0 Valencia Basket
Semifinals 2012 Barcelona 3-1 Valencia Basket
Semifinals 2014 Barcelona 3-2 Valencia Basket
Quarterfinals 2017 Valencia Basket 2-1 Barcelona
Quarterfinals 2023 Barcelona 2-0 Valencia Basket
2-2 in matchups this season
Both teams completed the first round of Liga Endesa 2025-26, the regular season, and will now put the finishing touches on another thrilling basketball campaign. The two league matchups went Valencia's way and the two continental games went Barcelona's way. Interestingly, each team managed to neutralize the opponent's main weapon in these four games: Valencia Basket had much better accuracy from three-point range (41.6% vs 31.7%) and Barcelona controlled the boards (34.8 vs 32).
VBC 93-81 BAR (Game 1)
BAR 108-102 VBC (EuroLeague)
VBC 62-66 BAR (EuroLeague)
BAR 77-102 VBC (postponed Game 33)
Valencia Basket left no doubt in the previous Liga Endesa matchups, leading on the scoreboard for 74 minutes and 35 seconds of the 80 total. But Barcelona set the pace in both EuroLeague games. Punter (27 points and 7 assists) shined in the first; in the second, the Barcelona squad grabbed twice as many offensive rebounds.
Jean Montero arrives at this decisive moment as the best player of the 2026 Playoffs so far. Beyond his historic performances in the 1st and 3rd games of the semifinals, his averages have been demolishing: 17.6 points, 5.8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 63% on two-pointers, 41.9% on three-pointers, 93.8% on free throws and 23.4 in player efficiency rating. So far, only two players have been named MVP of a final at age 22 or younger:
Roberto Dueñas, at 21 years and 201 days (1997)
Pau Gasol, at 20 years and 350 days (2001)
Valencia Basket, the beginning of a dynasty?
Valencia Basket lifts the Supercopa Endesa 2026 championship trophy© acb Photo / Aitor Arrizabalaga
For the second consecutive season, Pedro Martínez's team reaches the grand final without losing a single playoff game and after leading the regular season in most statistical categories. Last year's runner-up finish, the Supercopa Endesa 2025, the Final Four in Athens... are we witnessing the emergence of a new powerhouse in European basketball?
For now, it is already one of the few teams that have managed to reach the Playoff Final undefeated in consecutive years:
Barcelona under Aíto (1989 and 1990)
Barcelona under Xavi Pascual (2010 and 2011)
Real Madrid under Pablo Laso (2018 and 2019)
Valencia Basket under Pedro Martínez (2025 and 2026)
From playing just one final between 1988 and 2016, Valencia Basket has gone on to play three in the same decade. All of them with Martínez on the bench: 2017, 2025 and 2026. Outside the orbit of Barcelona and Real Madrid, the only other clubs that have also qualified for two consecutive finals are Baskonia (2005-06 and 2008-10), Penya (1990-93) and Picadero Damm (1964-66).
Barcelona: an unprecedented path to the title
The most decorated club in the entire ACB era, with 17 titles and 32 finals played, now wants to add another trophy to its showcase in the most original way. It has never qualified for a title series without being a top seed, but no one has ever won the championship after entering the Playoffs as the 5th seed either.
In fact, the 1st or 2nd seed in the regular season have won 8 out of every 10 Liga Endesa titles, while only TDK Manresa in 1998 did so after overcoming the home-court advantage in each series.
1st: 61.9% (26 champions)
2nd: 23.8% (10 champions)
3rd: 4.8% (Barcelona 2014 and Valencia 2017)
4th: 4.8% (Baskonia 2002 and 2008)
6th: 2.4% (TDK Manresa 1998)
5th, 7th, 8th: 0%
It is true that Baskonia was 8th in the standings when the 2019-20 season was interrupted on Game Day 23 due to COVID-19 lockdown. But that regular season was never able to resume. Then, the Vitoria squad finished 2nd in Group A and became champion in the Exceptional Final Phase held precisely in Valencia.
Clash of titans on the sidelines
Much is said, and rightly so, about Xavi Pascual's perfect record in the Liga Endesa Playoffs. He has coached Barcelona for 10 seasons and in all of them he has reached the grand final. He did not miss any between 2008 and 2016; nor has he been absent from the appointment in his return to the competition a decade later.
With his 4 championship titles, the Gavá native has the opportunity to access the ACB trophy podium in 2026. Aíto García Reneses leads with a total of 9 championships; Pablo Laso follows with 6; and Lolo Sáinz stands at 5, although he achieved five others in the Liga Nacional era.
When Pedro Martínez made his debut in 1989-90, Valencia Basket was finishing its 2nd season in the elite.
For his part, Pedro Martínez will reach the impressive figure of 1,100 games coached in Liga Endesa this Thursday in the Playoff Final opener. When he debuted in the competition back in 1989-90, Valencia Basket was barely finishing its 2nd season in the elite of Spanish basketball. The Catalan coach is counting down to dethrone Aíto (1,111) as the all-time leader in games coached in the ACB era.
Martínez opened his trophy cabinet in 2017 in his first final with Valencia Basket. He then lost the 2018 final with Baskonia and fell in 2025, once again as Valencia's coach. To add his 2nd title, he will have to eliminate Xavi Pascual for the first time, who beat him decisively in both the 2010 quarterfinals and the 2013 semifinals.
