MoraBanc Andorra Stuns La Laguna Tenerife 90-89 with Kuric's Buzzer-Beater

MoraBanc Andorra secured a dramatic 90-89 road victory over La Laguna Tenerife on Saturday at Pabellón Santiago Martín, thanks to Kyle Kuric's sixth three-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining. The win marked Andorra's eighth success of the season, leveling them with San Pablo Burgos—who defeated Lleida 99-91—in the relegation scrap, with five matches left. The team faces BAXI Manresa at home next Sunday at 12:30pm in Pavelló Toni Martí.

Stan Okoye made his return from a right knee ligament injury suffered on March 21 against Bilbao Basket, starting with Shannon Evans, Aaron Best, Justin McKoy, and Artem Pustovyi. Ahead of tip-off, coach Žan Tabak previewed the challenge on Friday, praising Okoye's physical presence and league know-how while warning of Tenerife's formidable home floor—one of the ACB's toughest. He recalled Andorra's recent breakthrough win at Río Breogán and urged focus amid rivals' gains, noting Tenerife's unity under Txus Vidorreta beyond stars like Marcelinho Huertas and Giorgi Shermadini. Tabak stressed keeping survival in their own hands without fixating on others, especially after an emotional Granada loss.

Tenerife opened with an 8-0 burst on threes from Thomas Scrubb and Patty Mills. McKoy scored Andorra's first after three minutes, but Shermadini and Huertas and-ones stretched it to 14-5. Evans fueled a response with Kostas Kostadinov and Sir'Jabari Rice, closing the first quarter at 22-21.

Giedraitis threes and and-ones from him and Mills built Tenerife's halftime lead to 46-35, as Andorra managed just 14 points on 15 turnovers—Kuric, Pustovyi, and Okoye staving off disaster.

The third quarter saw Andorra counter on fast breaks from Pustovyi, Okoye, and Best, narrowing to 50-45. Rafa Luz drained back-to-back threes for 56-54. Shermadini's and-one met Kostadinov's dunk, but Kuric's three-plus-one flipped the lead. Shermadini edged it 61-60 at the buzzer.

Tension peaked in the fourth. Huertas and Scrubb started a 4-0 run, matched by Evans, Pustovyi, and Kuric to tie at 67. Tenerife pulled ahead by six via Shermadini and Huertas amid Yves Pons friction. Kuric responded with five points and a three for 82-81. Huertas earned an unsportsmanlike; Luz tied it, but Huertas sank a late three for 89-86. Pustovyi split free throws to 89-87. Tenerife missed, Tabak called timeout, and Kuric drained the winner—Pustovyi grabbing the rebound.

Tabak lauded the rally from 12 down and defensive grit, hailing Kuric's "incredible" shot while crediting team sacrifice. "Nobody can doubt our spirit," he said. "We're happy we played well, but there's no relief—we haven't achieved anything." Four of Andorra's wins have come on buzzer-beating threes. They held a 34-29 rebound edge despite 17 turnovers.

Tenerife: Huertas 24, Mills 16, Shermadini 16, Giedraitis 9, Fitipaldo 8, Scrubb 7, Abromaitis 5, Doornekamp 2, Bordón 2.

Andorra: Kuric 23 (6/6 3PT), Pustovyi 13, Evans 11, Luz 11, Kostadinov 11, Okoye 6, Rice 6, Best 4, McKoy 3, Pons 2.

Officials: Jordi Aliaga, Rafael Serrano, Carlos Merino. Attendance: 4,783. Partials: 22-21, 46-35, 61-60, 90-89.