By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Valencia edged out Real Madrid, 98-94, in the Supercopa Endesa Final on Sunday.
A gutsy three-point play by Kameron Taylor produced a six-point lead for the team guided by Pedro Martinez with 28.2 seconds on the clock. Repelling the final comeback bid of a back-and-forth battle from the free-throw line earned the second Supercopa in team history, following a similar triumph in 2017.
Setting a new record for the most points scored by a player under 20 across the history of Supercopa championship games, 19-year-old Sergio de Larrea dropped a game-high 21 points behind 5/7 field goals en route to the Most Valuable Player award. He became the youngest MVP in tournament history, breaking a record set by Tiago Splitter in 2006. Taylor finished with 17 points, plus four assists, three rebounds, and one steal. Brancou Badio, Ethan Happ, Xabier Lopez-Arostegui, Jean Montero, Nate Sestina, and Yankuba Sima remained sidelined.
After erasing a double-digit deficit in the Semifinals on Saturday, Los Blancos dug their way out of an 11-point hole but lacked a second straight successful outcome in Malaga’s Palacio de Deportes Jose Martin Carpena. Mario Hezonja and Facundo Campazzo, packing 19 and 18 points, were not enough. After seven points and seven rebounds, Walter Tavares exited due to a fifth foul with 3:02 left in the fourth period. Meanwhile, Trey Lyles and Gabriele Procida debuted for Sergio Scariolo’s side with nine and three points, but Izan Almansa, Theo Maledon, and Chuma Okeke instead sat out.
Moving to a double-game opening week in the 2025-26 edition of the EuroLeague, Madrid meets Virtus Bologna at Paladozza and hosts Olympiacos at Movistar Arena on Tuesday and Thursday, with Valencia going to Astroballe to face LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Wednesday and welcoming Virtus at brand new Roig Arena on Friday. Next Sunday, in Round 1 of Spain’s Liga Endesa Regular Season, Los Blancos host Dreamland Gran Canaria and Taronges get FC Barcelona.