Valencia were able to bounce back from their first loss of the domestic season last week with a hard fought win on the road to stay top of the pile, while second placed Barcelona got the job done in style against Sevilla.
The league leaders pulled out a 73-66 win at Joventut Badalona thanks to 19 points by Justin Hamilton to go 19-1 for the season but were made to work extremely hard to make the win safe. Barcelona though needed the opening quarter to make their contest safe against Sevilla. The Catalan giants led 27-12 after one en route to a 108-54 success.
Pau Ribas and Tomas Satoransky led a balanced scoring attack for Barca with 14 points each.
Laboral Kutxa and Real Madrid comprise the top four of the table. The Vitoria side warmed up for Thursday’s Copa del Rey quarter-final clash with hosts Rio Monbus by beating them 86-69 in their Liga Endesa encounter.
Real Madrid though were unconvincing in their 94-88 win over Gipuzkoa. The league champions struggled over the line despite scoring just nine points in the final quarter. Gipuzkoa drop back to the bottom of the table as Estudiantes thrashed Manresa 86-57.
Playoff contenders Fuenlabrada and Unicaja Malaga played out a thrilling contest as they fight to stay in the post-season. Fuenlabrada eventually won 89-79.
The two sides though sit behind fifth placed Gran Canaria, who bested Bilbao 91-85 in another battle between two playoff contenders.
Other games in week 20 saw Tenerife upset Andorra 79-77, UCAM Murcia beat Zaragoza 110-102,
