It is a key game in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs race. Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz takes on Valencia Basket in Round 26 for what is a new, decisive chapter in their growing sports rivalry.
Valencia and Baskonia have a lot in common, challenging Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for domestic titles in Spain, and going against each other often on all fronts. This, however, is arguably their biggest EuroLeague showdown ever, late in the regular season and with both teams having good chances to make it to the playoffs. Baskonia and Valencia arrive with identical 13-12 records. Only the winner will hold one of the top eight spots in the standings at the end of this round.
This marks the 11th meeting between Baskonia and Valencia in the EuroLeague, and they have each won five of those games to date. There are a lot of crossed paths between them. In 2020, Baskonia beat Valencia in the semifinals of the Spanish League on the latter’s court, La Fonteta, and ended up claiming the domestic crown. Valencia beat Baskonia in the 2021 quarterfinals. Baskonia returned the favor in this very same stage in 2022, downing Valencia twice at La Fonteta in a best-of-three series.