Before Round 18, Gran Canaria had already secured first place in Group B. It beat Veolia Towers Hamburg 86-73 at home in Round 18 to finish the regular season with the best record in this phase, 15-3, which comes with a prize.
By having the best overall record, Gran Canaria has secured the home-court advantage in all playoff series it will take part until the end of the season. That is particularly important for head coach Jaka Lakovic's team for a good number of reasons.
First and foremost, Gran Canaria will not have to travel anywhere. Located in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria has to travel longer distances than any other team to play EuroCup road games. This time, it will be each and every playoff opponent going to Gran Canaria to meet the top-seeded team.
Playmaker Andrew Albicy pointed out something else after the game. "We are happy to get the win, to secure the first spot and the home-court advantage that, for us, is very important because we haven't lost [in the EuroCup] this year in Gran Canaria," he said.
Indeed, Gran Canaria is 9-0 at home in the EuroCup this season, winning all games by an average margin of 11.8 points. Its only narrow win, 85-83, came against Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv in Round 5.
Last season, Joventut Badalona was the top-seeded team, but it lost against ratiopharm Ulm, coached by Lakovic, in the eighthfinals, 73-79. Just like Gran Canaria, Joventut had been undefeated at home throughout the regular season.
Gran Canaria now hopes to keep that in mind to make the most out of the home-court advantage. Joventut and Gran Canaria may cross paths in the semifinals if both teams win enough games.