Liga Endesa: Barca Slips, Valencia Rises
It was an eventful January 21st as Round 17 of the 2017-18 regular season drew to a close in the Spanish Liga Endesa. The top of the league standings looked the same, with Real Madrid maintaining its dominant lead over the rest of the domestic Spanish League with its 16-1 record. The Powerhouse easily crushed Gipuzkoa BC San Sebastian 98-84, knocking them down to 12th place in the league standings after handing them their 10th loss of the season.
The battle for second place took an interesting turn over the weekend. Valencia Basket, thanks to an 88-72 victory over Fuenlabrada slid into a distant second place with their 12-5 slate. They laid claim to the solo second position in the league after 10th-placed MoraBanc Andorra was able to pull off an upset over FC Barcelona Lassa 102-92. Andorra proved to be prepared for a good fight against their opponents, who were significantly favored to win. Andorra was relentless as most of the game was under their control. While Barca was playing catch up, Andorra continued with their aggressive play and pounded the rock in the paint. Jaka Blazic paced the victors with 20 points, leading three other teammates to score in double figures for the night. The loss dropped FC Barcelona to an 11-6 record. They now sit in third place despite being tied with Fuenlabrada as far as having the same win-loss record is concerned.
That completes the top-4 picture.
There is a tight race after that as the teams currently sitting in fifth to seventh place currently sport identical 10-7 records and they are Iberostar Tenerife, Unicaja Malaga, and Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz. The ferocity of the competition is real in the Liga Endesa and as early as now, many teams are battling hard to vie for a playoff spot.
Here are the complete results of Round 17:
Valencia vs. Fuenlabrada, 88-72
Baskonia vs. Betis Energia Plus Sevilla, 94-70
Unicaja Malaga vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria, 94-87
Retabet Bilbao Basket vs. Rio Natura Monbus Obardoiro CAB, 74-84
Iberostar Tenerife vs. Estudiantes Madrid, 77-59
CAI Zaragoza vs. San-Pablo-Inmobiliaria-Miraflores-Burgos, 73-79
Gipuzkoa vs. Real Madrid, 84-98
MoraBanc Androrra vs. FC Barcelona Lassa, 102-92
FIATC Joventut Badalona vs. UCAM Murcia, 62-71