Tavares on the verge of the historic record in Matchday 6

Matchday 6 of Liga Endesa features encounters of great significance in the competition. From the pursuit of a historic record to high-stakes regional derbies, Spanish basketball will experience an exciting weekend. The matches on Saturday, October 31st, kick off a round that will culminate on Sunday with games that will define positions in the standings.

Saturday: Zaragoza and Murcia seek to react

Casademont Zaragoza hosts FIATC Girona in a clash where the history is completely tied: 4-4 overall and 2-2 at Príncipe Felipe. The team coached by Moncho Fernández arrives with the urgency to secure their first away victory, as they currently hold a 0-3 record on the road. The Zaragoza side, with a 1-1 record at home, ranks as the second-best team in three-point shooting in the Liga Endesa with 42.2%, although they have a critical weakness in closing out defensive rebounds, securing only 61.9% of the misses at their basket.

The most revealing statistic for Casademont is their absolute dependency on outside shooting. They have made exactly 15 three-pointers in all their victories with a spectacular 50% success rate, while in their two losses, they averaged only 8.5 three-pointers at a poor 29.8%. The FIATC Girona, on the other hand, found the most lethal version of Mac McClung in the last match, who broke the derby with 4 consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter and finished with decisive 5/10 shooting and 23 points. This change in performance is noteworthy, as the shooting guard had just signed a disastrous 4/19 from beyond the arc in his first four games. Jassel Pérez continues to lead the season in scoring with 21.4 points per game.

In Murcia, UCAM Murcia faces iLERNA Lleida, with the historical record favoring the Murcians (3-1) and having no losses at home against the Bordeaux team (2-0). Defense is the most vulnerable point for iLERNA, which has conceded 231 points in the last two rounds and has become the team that allows the most points in the Liga Endesa, with 103.2 points per game. Dylan Ennis shines for UCAM after scoring 52 points in the last two matches, including 24 crucial points against Leyma Coruña, along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a valuation of 23.

The Galician derby and Huertas' history

Leyma Coruña hosts La Laguna Tenerife in the highlight match of Saturday. The aurinegros come in with four consecutive victories, maintaining an undefeated away record of 2-0 and an identical balance against the Coruñeses. The offensive contrast is striking: La Laguna Tenerife is the best team in the Liga Endesa in frontcourt three-point accuracy with 50%, while Leyma barely reaches 22%. Defensively, Lakovic’s team is the benchmark of the competition, allowing just 77.2 points per game and keeping opponents between 75 and 81 points in the first five rounds. They also hold the best three-point shooting percentage in the Liga Endesa at 46%.

Leyma Coruña clings to the Coliseum factor, having recorded 75% of their victories in the Liga Endesa there, aiming to close October in the same way they started it. However, the spotlight of the day falls on Huertas, the point guard for La Laguna Tenerife. After tying Nacho Rodríguez's 737 matches in the last round, he could definitively take third place in the historic ranking of the Liga Endesa this Sunday. Only Jofresa with 756 and Reyes with 824 matches would remain ahead. Fate has conspired for this milestone to occur precisely at the Coliseum in A Coruña, the court that Huertas has played on the least in his career. The Brazilian has only played there once, two years ago, when he dominated with 19 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Sunday: Tavares and his historic pursuit

Sunday, November 1st, is packed with crucial matches. Real Madrid hosts Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos in a duel where the history entirely favors the whites: 11-0 in regular phase precedents, including a 6-0 in Madrid. The only victory for Recoletas was in the Final Phase of 2020. Real Madrid is the only undefeated team in the Liga Endesa and leads in offensive efficiency with 1.38 points per possession and defensive efficiency with 1.10. Their effective field goal percentage reaches 65.8%, with 68.5% of baskets assisted. Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos has the fourth-best defense, allowing 1.12 points per possession and is the only team that can compete with the whites in rebounds.

All eyes are on Edy Tavares, who is preparing to deliver the final blow to Fran Vázquez's throne as the all-time top shot-blocker in the ACB. Only two blocked shots separate them in the ranking. The Cape Verdean center, with 737 blocks, will also become the player who needed the least time to take the historical lead in one of the main six statistical categories. In fact, he has recorded 21 blocks in 8 games against Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos, averaging 2.6 per game with a maximum of 6 in 2021.

Other matches and standout players

Asisa Joventut welcomes Surne Bilbao in a match of teams with mirrored results: Penya is 2-0 at home and 0-3 away; Surne Bilbao, 3-0 in Miribilla and 0-2 on the road. Asisa has won 8 of the last 9 visits from the Hombres de Negro to the Olímpic, including a streak of three consecutive victories. Monbus Obradoiro faces Río Breogán in the first derby between them since March 2024. Dominik Mavra is just 10 assists away from becoming the all-time leader in assists for Obradoiro, currently with 296 compared to Juan Miguel Alonso's 305. Sergi Quintela reunites with Breogán, the team he played for between 2016 and 2024, totaling 97 Liga Endesa games, now facing his brother Erik Quintela.

Kosner Baskonia hosts Kids&Us Manresa, the only winless team, in a duel where the Basques have won the last six direct encounters. Stefan Joksimovic has become the fifth 17-year-old player to play 32 minutes or more in a Liga Endesa game. Nick Ongenda leads the Liga Endesa in blocks with 1.8 per game, volume of blocked shots with 4.6%, and dunks with 2.8, averaging 11 points and 4 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play.

MoraBanc Andorra receives Valencia Basket in a match where the taronja team leads the historical record in Andorra with 7-6. TJ Shorts has broken the record for most assists distributed at the start of a Liga Endesa season without committing a single turnover, accumulating 23 in 108 minutes on the court, averaging 17.4 points and shooting 63% on two-pointers. No other point guard has navigated through their first 100 minutes in Liga Endesa without committing a turnover.

Finally, Unicaja hosts Barça in search of their first league victory away from the Palau. Unicaja has recorded three consecutive victories with increasingly wider margins. Amine Noua is the best-rated interior player in the Liga Endesa with 20 credits per game and grabs the most rebounds with 8, averaging 14.4 points with a spectacular 80% on two-pointers and 35% on three-pointers. The historical record clearly favors Barça, who have won 8 of their last 11 trips to Carpena for a total balance of 89-39.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Tavares a dos tapones del récord histórico en Jornada 6