Real Madrid-Valencia Basket: la Liga final gets underway
Chus Mateo's boys play their first game at the Movistar Arena (9.15pm CEST).
Real Madrid begin the ACB League final tonight, their fifth in a row and their thirteenth in the last fourteen. This time, they face Valencia Basket in a best-of-five series. With the challenge of extending their record in the competition (37), the Whites will be looking to take a 1-0 lead with the help of the Movistar Arena, a decisive factor this season, where no visiting team has managed to win.
First against second in the Regular Season. The two best teams in La Liga will battle it out for the title starting today. Real Madrid dominated the Regular Season (30-4) and go into the final after beating Baskonia in the quarter-finals (2-0) and Unicaja in the semi-finals (3-1).
Furthermore, if we take into account last season's playoffs, they have a record of 13 wins in 14 games. For their part, Valencia Basket finished second in the regular season (25-9) and are undefeated in the playoffs, defeating Gran Canaria (2-0) and La Laguna Tenerife (3-0). Adding the last four games before the playoffs, the Taronjas have accumulated nine consecutive wins. Their last defeat was against the Whites at the Movistar Arena on 4 May (96-89).
The Madrid court will once again play a key role. Chus Mateo's boys have been unbeatable this season, winning all 19 games played (a historic record for wins in a single season). But their streak goes even further. They haven't lost a game in front of their fans since March 2024. That's 29 consecutive wins. The two teams have met eight times in the playoffs, with Real Madrid winning seven of those games: twice in the quarter-finals (1997/98 and 2006/07) and four times in the semi-finals (2014/15, 2015/16, 2018/19, and 2020/21). However, Valencia Basket won the only final played (2016/17).
Key factors
Valencia Basket plays for possession, rebounds well, and is fast on the counterattack. They have had the best attack in the playoffs so far (96.4 points per game). Real Madrid will have to be at their best defensively and try to reduce the percentage of three-pointers scored by Valencia, who have an outside line that combines points and athleticism, with Montero, Jones, Badio, and Ojeleye, among others, and a very versatile inside game in which Pradilla and Costello stand out. The depth of the Madrid squad should be another differentiating factor. Everyone is on form, and in the six games, at least five players have picked up double-digits in PIR. Campazzo and Tavares are at their best, and Hezonja has been the top scorer in the semi-finals with an average of 17.2 points. Tonight, let's go for 1-0.