Valencia Basket vs Gran Canaria: Endesa League Round 1 Finish

The first Valencia Basket men’s team closes the first round of the Endesa League with the last match of a series of four consecutive weeks of triple matches visiting the Dreamland Gran Canaria court (Sunday 25, 1:00 p.m., Gran Canaria Arena, DAZN) in a clash on matchday 17 of the acb. The Taronja team closes a demanding week with its 13th game in 29 days looking for a victory that would mathematically certify its seeding status for the Copa del Rey draw and that would represent its best first round in the Endesa League in a season in which it has combined with the Euroleague (it has never been able to add 13 wins in the first half of the ACB season in a campaign in which it also played in the top continental competition). To achieve this, they will have to break a bad streak in the Regular League at the Gran Canaria Arena that has lasted since October 2016, although last year they managed to end their particular curse on this field by winning overtime in the second game of the Endesa League quarterfinal playoff. The Taronja team will try to recover its usual rhythm against a rival that is the one that plays with the smallest number of possessions in the championship, that is one of those that concedes the fewest points and that causes a high number of losses to its opponents. Coach Pedro Martínez has his entire squad to face the match. Valencia Basket enters this last game of the first half of the season with a balance of 12-4.

Dreamland Gran Canaria has won three of its last six acb games, including a victory on the Laguna Tenerife court by 70-71 and the victory against UCAM Murcia by 77-72, which has allowed it to move away from the delicate area of ​​​​the classification and appear in 13th place with a 6-9 in its locker and a pending match at home against Kosner Baskonia. However, Lakovic’s team will want to make up for the last two defeats suffered at home in front of their fans and look for their best version, which makes them one of the best defensive teams in the championship. In a squad that is complete to play this match, Kassius Robertson (who could make his debut in acb in this match with the yellows) has arrived in place of Braian Angola.

Sergio De Larrea analyzes the match

Valencia Basket point guard Sergio De Larrea commented in the preview of this match that “Dreamland Gran Canaria is a great team that is going to demand the most from us. It is going to demand that we play at the highest possible level on a complicated field like it is there. We have to take our feelings, get back to our rhythm and try to get it out. It is going to be a battle of styles in which we have to try to impose ours and be prepared for various situations: to play at their pace, but above all have to put our own pace and play at what we want. I think we can make a point and apart with respect to these last 10 years, try to continue in our dynamic, to try to win the game and be able to end this streak that we have had for a long time in the Regular League.”

Final sprint of a demanding stretch of matches

The Taronja team closes its fourth consecutive week of three games at the Gran Canaria Arena and puts the final touch on a series of 13 games in 29 days that began on December 28 with a victory against MoraBanc Andorra by 84-79. To close 2025, they beat Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade by 86-73 at the Roig Arena and opened 2026 with a victory on the court of Surne Bilbao Basket by 72-116 on January 2. Then the taronja team won at the Roig Arena against Baxi Manresa by 103-76 on January 4, traveled to Belgrade to win at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade by 89-106 on January 6, fell at home against AS Monaco by 92-101 on Thursday, January 8 and lost to Unicaja by 70-76 on Saturday, January 10. Last week, a 115-73 victory at the Roig Arena against Casademont Zaragoza on January 12 and a double defeat in two complicated outings on the fields of Fenerbahçe Beko Istanbul (82-79) on January 16 and Real Madrid (94-79) on January 18. This week, Pedro Martínez’s men opened it with a 98-84 victory against Paris Basketball in a game played on January 20 and then came a 93-89 defeat at FC Bayern Munich.

Option to secure seeding status

A Taronja victory in this match would serve to ensure seeding status in the Copa del Rey draw that will take place on Monday, January 26 at 12:00 p.m. at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in València. Even with a defeat, to avoid the Taronja presence in the first pot of the draw, Barça, UCAM Murcia and Kosner Baskonia would have to win their games and for the latter two to recover the difference in the general Basket-average. Currently Valencia Basket has +210 while the Murcians have +107 and the Vitorians have a +78.

Looking for the best first round acb in the Euroleague year

But in addition to seeking an advantage in the cup draw, Sunday’s morning game has another added statistical incentive. And Valencia Basket has never managed to close a first round of the Endesa League with at least 13 victories in the seasons in which it has combined its presence in the demanding domestic tournament with the most powerful European competition, so adding a victory would certify the best first round acb of the Taronja team in the Euroleague campaign:

Balance of first round acb in Euroleague seasons

2003-04 season. 11-6

2010-11 season. 10-7

2014-15 season. 10-7

2017-18 season. 12-5

2019-20 season. 9-8

2020-21 season. 12-6

2022-23 season. 9-8

2023-24 season. 10-7

2025-26 season. 12-4*

The track that resists the most in the acb Regular League

It will not be easy for Valencia Basket to achieve that record since the Gran Canaria Arena is the court where it has not won in a Regular League acb match for the longest time. Although it broke a streak of nine consecutive defeats with its victory in the second Playoff quarterfinal game of last season by winning 94-102 after overtime, to find Valencia Basket’s last victory in a Regular League game on this court we must go back to matchday 3 of the 2016-17 season, when it won 75-84 in a game played on October 9, 2016 with 14 points of Sikma and San Emeterio as top scorers.

Negative streak in the Regular League at the Gran Canaria Arena

Endesa League. Regular League 2017-18. Gran Canaria 87- Valencia Basket 78

Endesa League. Regular League 2018-19. Gran Canaria 111- Valencia Basket 92

Endesa League. Regular League 2019-20. Gran Canaria 87- Valencia Basket 77

Endesa League. Regular League 2020-21. Gran Canaria 92- Valencia Basket 86

Endesa League. Regular League 2021-22. Gran Canaria 89- Valencia Basket 83

Endesa League. Regular League 2022-23. Gran Canaria 95- Valencia Basket 89

Endesa League. Regular League 2023-24. Gran Canaria 79- Valencia Basket 71

Endesa League. Regular League 2024-25. Gran Canaria 97- Valencia Basket 94

Duel of rhythms

Sunday’s morning match will be a fight for pace since Dreamland Gran Canaria is the team in the Endesa League that plays with the fewest number of possessions with 73.6 while Valencia Basket is one of those that plays at the highest pace with 79.2. The yellow team is the fourth team that concedes the fewest points, with 81.3 per game, although its defensive efficiency is in the middle of the table with 1.12 points received per possession. The taronja team remains the highest scoring team (94.9 points) with the best offensive efficiency (1.20). Despite this difference in pace, both teams take good care of the ball, with Valencia Basket being the second that wastes the fewest possessions (13.7%) and Dreamland Gran Canaria the fifth that commits the fewest losses (13.9%). This aspect will be important since the two teams are also among those that cause the most losses to their rivals: the Valencians are second with 17% and the Canaries are fourth with 16.7%.

Kassius Robertson, the last piece to join the yellow team

This match could mark the debut in the Endesa League of Dreamland Gran Canaria’s latest acquisition, former player Kassius Robertson, who made his BCL debut last Tuesday with 11 points and 3 assists. The Canadian shooter occupies the space left by Colombian Braian Angola, who scored 8.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in his time as a yellow player and who could visit the Roig Arena in the EuroLeague with his new team, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. The arrival of Robertson increases the roster of players with a taronja past for Dreamland Gran Canaria, which for a few seasons has had Mike Tobey (227 games with Valencia Basket) and which this summer incorporated Louis Labeyrie (239 games as a taronja).

The rival: Dreamland Gran Canaria

The yellow team has a very marked quintet in the Endesa League, in which the Frenchman Andrew Albicy (5 points and 3.7 assists) always starts at the base, forming on the outside with his two top scorers: guard Isaiah Wong (11.5 points and 2.1 rebounds) and Nico Brussino (10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists to be the most valued on the team with 10.8 credits). Inside, the usual couple is Louis Labeyrie (6.5 points with 48.5% in triples and 3.1 rebounds) and Mike Tobey (8.7 points and 5.2 rebounds for a 10.4 efficiency). And the interior replacements are the most outstanding players from the bench with the contribution of Pierre Pelos (8.5 points and 4 rebounds) and Kur Kuath (6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks). On the outside, in addition to what Robertson can contribute, they have the participation of Ziga Samar (6.1 points and 2.3 rebounds), Miquel Salvó (4 points and 2.5 rebounds) and Eric Vila (3.4 points), in addition to having recently recovered Carlos Alocén after a long-term injury.

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REFEREES: Óscar Perea- Rafael Serrano- Andrés Fernández Carretero