By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The 2023/24 ACB League regular season ended with all the Round 34 games played simultaneously, so the excitement peaked.
Thanks to a 93-69 win over Palencia at home, Unicaja Malaga secured the top seed in the Playoffs. Real Madrid is the second-best team, while Barcelona and Valencia follow in third and fourth.
The fourth EuroLeague representative is out of the postseason picture. Baskonia lost to Real Madrid 106-100, finished ninth, and will miss the Playoffs for the first time since the new format was introduced in the 1994/95 season.
Dzanan Musa was Baskonia’s executioner with 19 points, while Vincent Poirier followed him with 18. Rudy Fernandez added 14, Mario Hezonja 12 points, and Alberto Abalde and Facu Campazzo scored 10 points each.
Dusko Ivanovic couldn’t count on Markus Howard and Chima Moneke due to injuries, and Codi Miller-McIntyre led the way with 23 points and 12 assists, with Matt Costello adding 19, Vanja Marinkovic 17, and Tadas Sedekerskis 11 points with eight boards for the Vitoria team.
Interestingly, Granada survived in the last seconds with Elias Valtonen’s block and defeated Gran Canaria at home 74-67 to avoid relegation. Obradoiro is going down, as well as Palencia.
By winning the LEB Oro regular season, Leyma Coruna will join the ACB League next season for the first time in history, while the other promoted team will be determined after the playoffs.
Playoffs
Unicaja (1) – Manresa (8)
Real Madrid (2) – Gran Canaria (7)
Barcelona (3) – Tenerife (6)
Valencia (4) – Murcia (5)
ACB League Round 34
Girona – Zaragoza 79-89
Bilbao – Barcelona 68-72
Granada – Gran Canaria 74-67
Andorra – Valencia 99-71
Murcia – Breogan 68-61
Obradoiro – Joventut 97-71
Real Madrid – Baskonia 106-100
Tenerife – Manresa 84-80
Unicaja – Palencia 93-69
Final standings: Unicaja 28-6, Real Madrid 28-6, Barcelona 23-11, Valencia 21-13, Murcia 21-13, Tenerife 21-13, Gran Canaria 20-14, Manresa 19-15…