Valencia, Spain – The Spanish basketball season heads into a crucial weekend as the Copa del Rey tournament begins on Thursday, February 19th, at the Roig Arena in Valencia. The competition brings together the top eight teams from the first round of the Liga ACB, Spain’s top professional basketball division, for a four-day, single-elimination tournament.
Defending champions Unicaja will attempt to repeat their success from last year, when they defeated Real Madrid in the final. Real Madrid, with a record 16 Copa del Rey titles, will be looking to surpass FC Barcelona’s 17 championships and reclaim the crown. The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, was established in 1983 after clubs broke away from the Spanish Basketball Federation to professionalize the league.
Valencia Basket, currently second in the Liga ACB standings, earned a guaranteed spot in the tournament as the host team. The remaining seven teams qualified based on their league performance: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Baskonia, UCAM Murcia, Unicaja, La Laguna Tenerife, and Joventut de Badalona.
The quarterfinals are scheduled as follows: Valencia Basket will face Joventut de Badalona at 6:00 p.m. On Thursday, February 19th, followed by Real Madrid against Unicaja at 9:00 p.m. On Friday, February 20th, Baskonia will play The Tenerife Lagoon at 6:00 p.m., and FC Barcelona will accept on UCAM Murcia at 9:00 p.m.
The semifinals will be held on Saturday, February 21st, with the winners of the Valencia Basket-Joventut and Real Madrid-Unicaja matches facing off at 6:00 p.m. The second semifinal, featuring the winners of Baskonia-Tenerife and Barcelona-UCAM Murcia, will commence at 9:00 p.m.
The tournament culminates on Sunday, February 22nd, at 7:00 p.m. With the final match, determining the 90th edition’s Copa del Rey champion. The Roig Arena, inaugurated last year, boasts a capacity of 15,600 spectators for basketball games and can expand to over 20,000 for concerts and other events.
The tournament draw saw Baskonia avoid a quarterfinal matchup against Barcelona due to the timing of a previously postponed league game between Gran Canaria and Baskonia, which Baskonia won on February 8th. This victory secured Baskonia’s fourth-place finish in the league standings.
The Liga ACB’s revenues were approximately €40 million in 2025, with DAZN and Endesa contributing 50% of the league’s income. Central payment revenues apportioned to clubs totaled €16 million in the 2023-24 season. A total of 54 teams have competed in the Liga ACB since its inception in 1983.
