Week 29 of the Liga Endesa saw Valencia keep their hopes of a possible spot in next season’s EuroLeague alive plus a shattered backboard courtesy of Barcelona’s Moussa Diagne.
But when the weekend was all said and done, Real Madrid remained the top dogs in the Liga Endesa thanks to an 87-76 home win over Real Betis.
However, Real Betis, who currently lie second from bottom and in relegation danger pushed the reigning champions to its limit, even pulling it to a 76-72 game with four minutes left. But Madrid kept their cool and accelerated away in the last two minutes to maintain top spot.
Andres Nocioni had 26 points for the winners.
Valencia though are hot on their trail at the top as they ousted Barcelona 76-58 to stay second.
Pierre Oriole led Valencia with 14 points and seven rebounds but the main talking point came in the second quarter when Barcelona’s Moussa Diagne ran in for the uncontested two hand flush, shattered the backboard in the process.
The week had began badly for Valencia, who were beaten 88-79 away to Bilbao in a rescheduled game.
OTHER RESULTS
Baskonia 95-90 Gran Canaria
Estudiantes 95-90 Manresa
Unicaja Malaga 93-69 Andorra
UCAM Murcia 99-62 Fuenlabrada
Zaragoza 71-69 Joventut Badalona
