Valencia brought in game number 1000 in the Liga Endesa by winning game number 28 in a row, as they ousted Zaragoza 81-74 at the Pabellon Municipal Fuente San Luis.
For parts of the contest though, it seemed that the occasion might have got to the league leaders, who decked the arena out in the old school jersey colours in an impressive pre-game show.
¡AMBIENTAZO EN LAS PUERTAS! ¡Quieren la bufanda de los 1000 partidos! pic.twitter.com/M3igMYlPWI
— Valencia Basket Club (@valenciabasket) January 17, 2016
¡Tenemos ganas de soplar la tarta! #VBC1000 pic.twitter.com/kVWIu2uMAu
— Valencia Basket Club (@valenciabasket) January 17, 2016
But in the end, Valencia held their nerve and played the kind of basketball fitting of the momentous occasion.
Bojan Dubljevic paced Valencia with 19 points and seven rebounds as his side stay on top with a 16-0 record.
Barcelona are second in the table at 15-1 after they beat Gran Canaria 96-81 in Las Palmas. Alex Abrines and Brad Oleson both hit 16 for the victors in a comfortable win.
But league champions Real Madrid have slipped down the table after they were stunned on the road by Fuenlabrada 91-85.
The game was turned on its head in the third quarter as Fuenlabrada turned a 47-45 deficit into a 67-60 advantage that ultimately got the better of Real.
Josip Sobin led the winners with 24 points.
Real Madrid’s loss opened the door for Laboral Kutxa to claim sole position of third as they eased past Joventut Badalona 89-68 in the Catalonia.
Unicaja stayed in the Copa del Rey and playoff hunt after thrashing Gipuzkoa 94-55 at home, as have Andorra who beat Sevilla 92-73.
The other games in week 16 saw Tenerife beat Rio Monbus 84-82 thanks to free throws from Daniel Rochetti with 2.9 seconds left. UCAM Murcia beat Estudiantes 93-80 and Bilbao got the better of Manresa with a 72-67 road win.
