On a weekend where the FIBA World Cup draw overshadowed the Liga Endesa schedule, second-placed Valencia pulled clear of third-placed Barcelona by defeating their rivals 95-93 in a breathtaking clash.
Trailing 93-90 with 8.3 seconds left, Juan Carlos Navarro had an opportunity to tie the game but found his attempt off the mark, as Valencia, who were missing leading scorer Justin Doellman won the game from the free throw line.
Oliver LaFayette led the winners with 22 points. Brad Oleson paced the Catalan side with 18.
Real Madrid remained unbeaten after 18 games in the Liga Endesa following a 105-83 win at Valladolid.
Sergio Llull led the league leaders with 20 points as coach Pablo Laso spread the minutes out against the basement side.
Fourth-placed Unicaja Malaga survived to beat Estudiantes 85-84 in the Spanish capital. Zoran Dragic missed the second of his two free throws to leave the hosts with a chance of snatching an upset win. Unfortunately, their transition play was broken up by the Euroleague side who sneaked the victory.
Dragic and Sergi Vidal both had 14 points to lead Malaga. Kyle Kuric’s game-high 15 for Estudiantes was not enough.
Gran Canaria scored a valuable 84-81 victory over Laboral Kutxa, as their form, domestically shows no signs of improvement as they are ninth.
Brad Newley led the victors with 24 points as they stopped a fightback from the visitors in the final period.
Joventut Badalona are back to winning ways as they saw-off La Bruixa d’Or 93-72 in Barcelona.
John Shurna had 21 points to lead Badalona to the win.
Cajasol Seville dominated a Gipuzkoa side that seem to be falling off the radar as they continue to slide down the table.
Marcus Landry led Seville with 17 points as they eased through the final three quarter on their way to victory.
Zaragoza were 88-72 winners at home to Bilbao, as Michael Roll’s 15 points were enough to seal victory.
The other scores in the Liga Endesa schedule saw Monbus defeat Tenerife 84-76, and Fuenlabrada edge out Murcia 87-84.
