Barcelona picked up an opening day 76-75 win over Valencia but the game did not go all their way, en route to the victory.
Trailing 46-35 at the half, Barca were getting outplayed by the visitors clad in orange, but led by Kostas Papanikolaou’s team-high 14 points, they hit back to take the lead thanks to a thunderous slam from Joey Dorsey, mid-way through the third quarter as the hosts took control only to be pegged back again.
Valencia did have a chance to win the game in the dying seconds but Justin Doellman’s effort was long. The American had a game-high 25.
Gran Canaria provided the upset of round one, beating Laboral Kutxa on the road 99-96 after a session of overtime.
Leading 47-36 at the half, Gran Canaria seemed to be comfortable, but the hosts came roaring back in the second half to force overtime, but the visitors had enough in the tank to grab a valuable road win.
Nacho Martin led the road side with 22 points, while Vitoria were spearheaded by Lamont Hamilton’s 23.
Canarias got the better of Manresa 76-74 with Blagota Sekulic leading the winners with 23 points. Mike Muscala led Manresa’s charge with 16 points.
Zaragoza pulled off an impressive 86-77 road win over Bilbao. Georgian international Giorgi Shermadini led the scoring for the winners with 20 points.
Other games included a comfortable 87-53 win last night for Real Madrid over Valladolid. Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez starred for the Euroleague runners-up with 13 points and 12 points respectively.
Murcia were 93-73 victors over Fuenlabrada at home, Dwayne Davis had 19 points for Murcia as he was one of six players in double-digits. 19 points from Jayson Granger gave Unicaja Malaga an easy 97-78 win over Estudiantes.
Gipuzkoa secured a 76-74 home win over Cajasol Seville and 18-year-old Rasmus Larsen made an early name for himself for La Bruixa d’Or as his 21 points and 13 rebounds gave his side a 90-78 win over Joventut Badalona.
