Liga Endesa: Playoff matches are now set
The Spain Liga Endesa wrapped up their 34-week regular season on Sunday, locking in team positions and setting up the playoffs as well as determining which two clubs will be relegated to the Liga Española de Baloncesto for the 2013-14 season.
The top eight clubs, that will participate in the post-season, are (in order from the top down): Real Madrid, Laboral Kutxa, FC Barcelona Regal, Valencia Basket, CAI Zaragoza, Uxue Bilbao Basket, Herbalife Gran Canaria, and Blusens Monbus. This will be the first time that Blusens Monbus will play in the Liga Endesa post season, sliding into the eighth spot after the 34th week.
The best of three playoff match-ups will be, with the top seeded team listed first, getting home games in Game 1 (May 23 and 24) and Game 3, if necessary:
(No. 1) Real Madrid – (No. 8) Blusens Monbus
(No. 2) Laboral Kutxa – (No. 7) Herbalife Gran Canaria
(No. 3) FC Barcelona Regal – (No. 6) Uxue Bilbao Basket
(No. 4) Valencia Basket – (No. 5) CAI Zaragoza
Week 34 saw little movement in the standings, with the big exception of Blusens Monbus knocking Unicaja Malaga out of the playoffs as Unicaja fell 57:50 to FC Barcelona Regal in Week 34 action. Blusens Monbus wins the tie-breaker after the clubs split their two contests, with both teams winning on the road, but Blusens won their game 70:76, while Unicaja won 65:69, a difference of +2 points for Blusens.
There was quite a bit of excitement around the league as records fell and awards were given out. Joventut FIATC set a Liga Endesa record knocking down 20 triples in one game, with the last coming on a catch-and-shoot buzzer-beater. Real Madrid set two marks with a 102.55 rating on the season and 87.79 points per game average for the season. Valencia Basket set the league record for best free throw shooting percentage with 82.06% (526 out of 641). Alberto Corbacho of Blusens Monbus dropped in 111 three-pointers on the season, setting the individual record for the most in a season. Salah Mejri was awarded the Liga Endesa Newcomer of the Year award, Justin Doellman was named MVP for the month of May, and Corey Fisher was named MVP of Week 34.
In finishing in the 17th and 18th spots, Lagun Aro GCO and La Bruixa d’Or will be sent down a league next season, while two unnamed clubs as of yet will be brought up to the Liga Endesa for the 2013-14 season.
Week 34 Liga Endesa Matches[matches league_id=4 match_day=34 template=summary dateformat=”M. j, Y”]
Final Liga Endesa Standings[standings league_id=4 show_website=false template=last5]