Liga Endesa, the ACB, Spain’s top flight. The focus is usually, and understandably, on the success stories. This season, Europe’s top domestic league might be most interesting at the bottom of the table. Emmet Ryan on the battle for survival between Gran Canaria, Andorra, and San Pablo Burgos.
Three teams, two survive. All of them with identical records with just 7 rounds to go in the season. The ACB has got itself a wild run-in ahead. From teams that have recent European triumphs in view to a principality side with a big new signing. This promises to be an exceptionally tasty run-in for Liga Endesa.
Considering Gran Canaria entered this season with dreams of winning the Basketball Champions League, this has been a disaster of a campaign. They’re the ACB/Liga Endesa equivalent of Tottenham Hotspur right now. Granca failed to even make the playoffs in the BCL after losing to Sir’Jabari Rice’s old team Nymburk in the St Patrick’s Day Miracle. Rice will feature again here as his Andorra side alongside San Pablo Burgos are battling with the islanders to avoid the drop.
The contenders
Spain’s ACB or Liga Endesa has 18 teams with 2 of them getting relegated each season. As it stands, Granada look to be toast with just 4 wins from 27 games. A bit further up the table, in 14th, sit Zaragoza with 9 wins from the same number of games. Their cases are probably settled.
That leaves one more team to go down and three teams trying to avoid being it. Right now, Andorra hold that position on tie-breakers with a 7-20 record. Just above them, and with the same record, are Gran Canaria and San Pablo Burgos.
Gran Canaria have been consistently in the top flight since the 1995/96 season. The islanders were Eurocup runners up a year ago and champions in 2023. San Pablo Burgos have been a touch rockier. While they won the 2020 and 2021 Basketball Champions League title, they spent the past three seasons in the second tier before getting promoted last summer. Then, of course, there’s Andorra.
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The principality calls upon a knight
Andorra has no major titles to its name. The only top tier recognition it can even point was Georgi Shermadini being an All-ACB player in 2017. The club from the Pyrenean principality sitting between Spain and France, has spent 12 of the past 13 seasons in the ACB/Liga Endesa.
It also looked utterly toast until just over a month ago. That was when they signed Sir’Jabari Rice from ERA Nymburk. Since then, they’ve gone 2-5 in league play. Not great but an improvement. Those losses included three competitive performances against Real Madrid (1st), Murcia (3rd), and Baskonia (4th).
Rice is scoring 15 points per game and is 39.3 per cent from deep, while also managing 4.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists. It’s a huge shot in the arm of a team that badly needs it for the run-in.
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How it’s shaping up
Gran Canaria have the worst run in but it’s a tight call. They’re home against Girona (10th) but then have Unicaja Malaga (8th, away), Barcelona (5th, A), Tenerife (6th, H), Lleida (13th, A), Manresa (12th, H), and finish away to Valencia (2nd). If everything breaks right, they go 3-4 but 1-6 is more likely.
San Pablo Burgos also have Manresa (A), Barcelona (A), Lleida (A) and Malaga (A) but they finish with Andorra (A), Joventut (7th, A), and Granada (H). They will be favoured to go at worst 2-5 and 4-3 isn’t unthinkable. Lastly Andorra have Granada away with road trips to Tenerife, Joventut, and Lleida. With home games against Manresa, Burgos, and Barcelona, the road to 3-4 or 4-3 is also there.
Calling it right now is really tough but I’d be most worried for Gran Canaria. No matter the case, if you can watch the run-in for the ACB/Liga Endesa relegation battle you should. It promises to deliver real drama in the final weeks of the regular season.
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