Unicaja secured first place at the end of the regular season by defeating Palencia 93:69 in the Liga Endesa 34th round.
The team from Malaga had the same record as Real Madrid, both teams won the same number of games, but the total points difference ultimately decided that Ibon Navarro’s team would start the playoffs from the top spot.
It’s an outstanding achievement for Unicaja, who, after winning the FIBA Champions League, managed to preserve their energy for the final stretch of the regular season and secure the best position for themselves.
The top scorers against the relegated Palencia were Melvin Ejim with 22 points and Kendrick Perry with 17, while Vitor Benite led the opponents with 19 points.
Real Madrid will enter the playoffs from the second position, despite defeating Baskonia. The loss itself isn’t a problem for Dusko Ivanovic’s team, but it cost them a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994, making it a historic moment.
Baskonia’s chances also depended on Manresa losing to Tenerife, but it was in vain. They couldn’t overcome the “royal club,” which objectively didn’t need the win as Unicaja was expected to defeat the bottom team with ease.
Although they showed great effort, the visitors at Wizink Center weren’t good enough without their best player Markus Howard. Despite Codi Miller-McIntyre scoring 23 points along with 12 assists, Chus Mateo’s team proved to be an insurmountable obstacle. For the winners, Dzanan Musa and Vincent Poirier stood out with 19 and 18 points respectively.
Obradoiro convincingly defeated Joventut 91:71 at home, but it wasn’t enough to stay in the league because their main competitor for survival, Granada, also managed to secure a win against Gran Canaria at home by 74:67.
The playoff matchups are now known. Top-seeded Unicaja will play against Manresa, current Euroleague champion Real Madrid will face Gran Canaria, Barcelona will play a series against Tenerife, while Valencia will compete against Murcia.
All series are played according to the best-of-five principle, incluidng the final. Barcelona, the defending champion, won the title last season by defeating Real Madrid.
The other results:
Girona – Zaragoza 79:89
Bilbao – Barcelona 68:72
Andorra – Valencia 99:71
Murcia – Breogan 68:61
Tenerife – Manresa 84:80