Valencia Basket vs. La Laguna Tenerife: An Unprecedented Matchup in the acb Playoffs

Valencia Basket and La Laguna Tenerife will meet for the first time ever in a Liga Endesa Playoff series in the upcoming semifinal, which will tip off on Tuesday, June 10 at 9:15 PM with Game 1 at La Fonteta (tickets available starting at €40, or €34 for our "Amics Taronja" members). While the Taronja team is making its 29th appearance in the ACB title playoffs (the last 19 consecutively) and the yellow and black side has become a postseason regular in recent years (entering their fifth consecutive Playoff and tenth overall), their paths had never crossed at this stage of the season—until now.

The matchup comes after Valencia Basket swept Dreamland Gran Canaria 2–0, and La Laguna Tenerife did the same against Joventut Badalona in the quarterfinals. Valencia aims for its third Liga Endesa final, while the Tenerife team is chasing its first-ever appearance in the Finals.

Tenth Semifinal for Valencia Basket

After three straight seasons falling in the opening round, Valencia Basket men’s team returns to the semifinals for the tenth time in a best-of-five format. They reached the finals in two of the previous nine attempts: in the 2002–03 season by defeating Unicaja (3–2), and in 2016–17 by knocking out Baskonia (3–1).

This will be the third time Valencia Basket holds home-court advantage in a semifinal series. It proved decisive in 2002–03, when after losing Game 2 at La Fonteta, they won Game 3 in Málaga and clinched the series with an 80–67 win in Game 5 at home. However, in the 2013–14 season, home court didn’t benefit either side: Barça won the first two games in Valencia, Valencia Basket took both in Barcelona, and in the decisive Game 5 at La Fonteta, current La Laguna Tenerife player Marcelinho Huertas hit the game-winning basket to send Barça to the final with a 75–77 win.

For La Laguna Tenerife, this will be their second-ever semifinal appearance. Their first came in the 2020–21 season after eliminating Hereda San Pablo Burgos in the quarterfinals. They then faced Barça in a best-of-three series, ultimately falling 2–1 despite a commanding 80–68 win at home in the Santiago Martín arena.