El Barça mantuvo su boleto en la Copa del Rey de Las Palmas en la jornada 17 de la Liga Endesa tras vencer al Surne Bilbao Basket (97-84), mientras que el Real Madrid se consolidó como favorito con una clara victoria (84-100) sobre MoraBanc Andorra.
Joan Peñarroya’s team had been playing with fire due to the lack of consistency in the new Barça project, but in the last round of the first half of the Liga Endesa, they secured a much-needed victory. Despite not starting well at the Palau Blaugrana, the game didn’t offer much suspense.
The Basque team came out strong (17-25) but found a quick response from the home team. With a 13-point lead at the start of the final quarter, Peñarroya’s team completed the Copa del Rey round in Las Palmas, following Barça’s title in 2018. Jabari Parker, Chimezie Metu, Darío Brizuela, and Willy Hernangómez were the standouts.
The pass was already virtually secured for the Catalan team before playing, thanks to Casademont Zaragoza’s defeat (97-91) against Coviran Granada. The Granada team ended their dream of being in Gran Canaria with a decisive goal in the final part, putting an end to a streak of six consecutive defeats with a great performance by Elías Valtonen.
On the other hand, Real Madrid performed excellently in the Principality, securing second place in the initial round of the ACB and becoming a top seed in the Copa del Rey draw to be held on Tuesday at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas. A second quarter with a score of 17-34 paved the way for Madrid’s victory, potentially setting up a quarter-final clash with Barça, an unusual Clásico due to its early stage.
Dzanan Musa (19 points) and Mario Hezonja (16) led five white players in double-digit scoring, with special mention to the progress of Usman Garuba and Andrés Feliz. Chus Mateo’s team had no rivals with their interior power with Edy Tavares and later their success from outside.
With the conclusion of the white team’s match, the ‘Top 8’ of Las Palmas 2025 was formed: Unicaja, Real Madrid, Valencia Basket, La Laguna Tenerife, Joventut, BAXI Manresa, Dreamland Gran Canaria, and Barça. The first four are top seeds and will be drawn against one of the following four.
On the other hand, Sunday saw a standout performance from Chima Moneke with 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 43 efficiency rating for a Cupless Baskonia that continued to struggle against a motivated Río Breogán team, coming off two consecutive wins.
The Galician team, with six wins, aimed to respond to Granada, with five, and Hiopos Lleida, also with six, in their attempt to move away from the relegation zone. The Catalan team played their best game of the season by defeating Dreamland Gran Canaria (88-78). Oriol Paulí (15 points) was the top scorer in his 300th game in the ACB, playing against his former team of six years.