Dimitris Kouimtsidis
BASKONIA has won the Spanish basketball league title for the first time in 10 years.
The Basque side defeated reigning champions Barcelona, 69-67, to win their fourth title and first since 2010.
In a repeat of history, Dusko Ivanovic’s side beat the same team they’d defeated a decade ago, with the Montenegrin coach in charge once again.
The Catalans were looking to retain the ACB championship for the sixth straight season but fell just short.
The game was neck and neck for the entire 40 minutes, with neither of the two teams ever getting a comfortable lead.
With 3.4 seconds of time left to play, Achille Polonara made an incredible assist to Luca Vildoza, who scored what proved to be the game winning lay-up.
Cory Higgins had the chance to win it for Barca but his off-balanced 3-point attempt from the corner was off the mark.
Vildoza finished with a team-high 17 points plus four assists and was named Final MVP, becoming the second consecutive Argentinian player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Real Madrid guard, Facundo Campazzo.
The coronavirus pandemic had forced the ACB to temporarily suspend all games.
When basketball was allowed to restart, the league held a shortened version where the top 12 teams were split across two groups, playing five games each.
The best two teams from each group advanced to the semi-finals, with the winners then moving onto the grand final.
All matches were a one-off knockout game held at Valencia’s Pavello Municipal Font de San Lluis.
