The top three all obtained victories in week 18 of the Liga Endesa, but Laboral Kutxa were not so fortunate as they lost 68-66 to UCAM Murcia.
However, there was a wait until the result was confirmed as the referees were put into action thanks to a basket from Tornike Shengelia on the buzzer that would have taken the game to overtime.
But after careful deliberation, the ball was still adjudged to be in the Georgian player’s hand and Murcia breathed a sigh of relief.
Facundo Campazzo, who showed off his jumping ability with a throw down in the third quarter, led the way for Murcia with 12 points as Laboral Kutxa stay in fourth.
Valencia though are top of the pile as they comfortably disposed of Bilbao 85-49 to go 18-0. Barcelona consolidated second with a 69-62 win on the road to Rio Monbus and Real Madrid eased past Manresa 102-70.
Bilbao’s loss to the league leaders opened the door for Andorra to climb back into the playoff picture as they beat Zaragoza 91-81.
Luka Bogdanovic led the winners with 20 points as they jump into eighth.
Joventut Badalona are close by in tenth as they deservedly beat second from bottom Estudiantes 75-58 in Catalonia.
Alberto Abalde led Badalona with 18 points, that included five triples.
Estudiantes’ loss meant that the door was left open for Gipuzkoa to move off the bottom of the Liga Endesa table, but they instead were handed a 94-82 loss by Fuenlabrada.
It was another stellar showing from Marko Popovic, as he poured in 21 points to lead all scorers.
Elsewhere around the league, Unicaja Malaga narrowly beat Sevilla 71-66 in a thrilling game on the Costa del Sol and Gran Canaria beat Tenerife 90-80.
