EuroCup sensation MoraBanc Andorra has been relegated from Liga Endesa / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: MoraBanc Andorra Credit MoraBanc Andorra

Saturday marked the final day of the regular season of the Spanish ACB League, currently known as Liga Endesa.

MoraBanc Andorra / Schedule

Casademont Zaragoza MoraBanc Andorra80-83 MoraBanc Andorra Lenovo Tenerife75-77

After holding talks of quietly making the EuroLeague just several weeks ago, the EuroCup sensation MoraBanc Andorra has been relegated from the competition. The team lost the final game of the regular season against Lenovo Tenerife 75-77 (19-24, 9-17, 25-17, 22-19).

Although Andorra trailed during the entirety of the game, the hope was still alive in the 4th quarter when the teams were tied at 75 with just 3.3 seconds to go, but then Giorgi Shermadini hit a floated with just 0.6 seconds to go to ultimately send the EuroCup's cinderella to the lower league.

Shermadini was the tied-top-scorer in the Basketball Champions League winners club, scoring 14 points and grabbing 4 rebounds for 18 PIR, while Sasu Salin also provided 14 points in the contest.

The Andorran team was led by Codi Miller-McIntyre who scored 23 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists for 25 PIR. Babatunde Olumuyiwa added 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks for 23 PIR.

Andorra remained 17th in the league's standings after the game which meant the team will be relegated the next season. Their neighbors in the standings Casademont Zaragoza and Urbas Fuenlabrada, who had the same amount of wins as Andorra prior to yesterday, grabbed wins in the final round, meaning they and Monbus Obradoiro avoided relegation in a nail-biting battle until the very end.

The Andorra players got noticeably emotional after a heart-breaking loss. The team has been playing in the ACB League since 2014, they had a magical run in the EuroCup only bowing down to the finalist Frutti Extra Bursaspor, and now their tenure in the highest basketball competition in Spain is over.

Andorra finished the year with 11 wins in their account, while Zaragoza, Fuenlabrada, and Obradoiro all finished the regular season with 12.

Together with Andorra, one more team from the European basketball competitions was relegated as Hereda San Pablo Burgos ended the season in the 18th position in the standings.

Burgos lost the last game against Fuenlabrada, eliminating even the slightest chance of coming back to Liga Endesa the next year.

San Pablo Burgos competed in the Basketball Champions League this year, falling to Darussafaka Istanbul in the Play-In Round of the playoffs.

An interesting moment happened after the Burgos game against Fuenlabrada.

The investor of the club and president of San Pablo Burgos, Felix Sancho, who had already been anxiously waiting for the final whistle, burst in after the final horn into the court.

According to Deportes a Minuto, Sancho, at the top of his voice and gesturing wildly, knelt down and forced his players to do the same to apologize to the fans for not having given him the final joy they had been waiting for.The players, between surprised and disconcerted, could not believe what they were seeing, but they paid attention to him and crouched down to apologize to their followers.

The final round of the regular season marked the final game of Zaragoza point guard Omar Cook's career. The player emotionally announced his retirement in the post-game interview. His 21-year career, during which he became the BCL champion and a two-time Montenegrin league winner, came to an end Saturday evening.

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