UCAM Murcia Upsets FC Barcelona at Liga ACB
There were more than a handful of exciting games in Round 21 of the Liga ACB 2018-19 regular season. Out of the lot, you could consider one the most eye-opening was UCAM Murcia’s 71-70 upset over league-leading FC Barcelona Lassa. Despite the loss, Barca maintains the league’s pole position with a 17-4 record. It was truly an unexpected result as UCAM Murcia has not fared too well in the Liga ACB and even still sits in 16th place with a 6-15 record. Even though the wins and losses for the teams did not tip the scales of the ongoing playoff race, it still highlighted the fact that Spain’s Liga ACB is one of the most competitive basketball leagues in Europe.
Was it a matter of the guests taking it easy or even having a lackadaisical approach to an “unimportant” game? Did Barca not give it their all? To the hosts’ credit, they did play well and at the end of the day earned their well-deserved victory.
Askia Booker hit four of the UCAM Murcia’s 12 triples to finish with a game-high 18 points and six assists. Milton Doyle was the only other
This was not the only game of note. Obviously. Another interesting one was a clash between two top-4 teams. Third-placed Baskonia destroyed Unicaja Malaga (4) 112-95 in what was the second largest blowout win of the round. It was an interesting contrast in approaches. Even though Unicaja Malaga won the 3-point shooting battle 15-9, Baskonia stayed aggressive and kept pounding the rock in the post to expand on their advantage. Six of their players scored in double figures as the team kept attacking from start to finish.
Here are the full results of Round 21 in the Liga ACB:
- Obradoiro 75-73 Breogan
- Gipuzkoa 66-67 Valencia
- CAI Zaragoza 102-93 (OT) Iberostar Tenerife
- Burgos 89-87 Herbalife Gran Canaria
- Fuenlabrada 74-106 Joventut
- Baskonia 112-95 Unicaja Malaga
- Andorra 66-87 Real Madrid
- Manresa 101-91 Estudiantes Madrid