By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The first stage of the Spanish ACB League’s final phase was completed Friday (26/6) with Valencia and San Pablo Burgos grabbing the last two semifinal tickets and leaving out defending champion Real Madrid (will be absent from the semifinals for the first time since 2008) and Gran Canaria (amid controversy around coach Fotis Katsikaris).
These five rounds provided 30 quite competitive games and a couple of thrilling clashes. Per information published by ACB, one-third of the games (10) was decided with a margin of a maximum of five points, including three overtimes. On average, the games were won with an average of 9.4 points.
There was also a notable improvement in the team’s offensive production in comparison with the regular season output. The 12 teams that participated in the group stage scored an average of 84.3 points, which marked an increase of nearly three points in comparison with the regular season’s 81.5 points. This was a result of the teams simply shooting the ball better: 54.7% on 2-pointers after 52.4% in the regular season, 36.1% on 3-pointers (35.3% in the regular season), and also 77.9% in free throws (75.2 in the regular season).
In a total number of 30 games, 30 different players were voted as game MVPS (Player of the Match) by fans in the ACB app.
The ACB is continuing on Sunday (28/6) with the Barcelona – San Pablo Burgos and Baskonia – Valencia semifinals.