basketball | Unicaja, a poisoned rival

The team from Malaga will be the penultimate obstacle for the Catalans in their goal of recovering the league title

Ibon Navarro has managed to build a choral block that has already knocked out Barça in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey

Barça gave a strong punch on the table of the qualifiers for the Endesa League title with a clear and authoritative victory by 64-87 on the Valencia Basket court to break into the fast track in a semifinal in which they will face off against a dangerous Unicaja who also beat Lenovo Tenerife 0-2 and who already It has been a huge upset this season.

After several years of twists and turns in a sports project with money that sometimes has not been known to spend, The arrival on the bench of Ibon Navarro has turned the reality of the Malaga team around like a sock Slowly but surely, the Basque coach has built an ensemble team that is reminiscent of the best MoraBanc Andorra in history in terms of performance.

Anyway, this Unicaja is much richer than that team with which he made history in the Principality. The first thing that stands out is the ability that all the players have to add, to the point that it is difficult to identify the true star of the team.

Perhaps we should mention Kendrick Perry and Tyson Carter in their role as ‘players’ or the ‘wizard’ but irregular Darío Brizuela on the perimeter, but it would be unfair to forget the surprising Osetkowski in his inside-outside role, a beefy Melvim Ejim capable of always yielding to the team’s interests or the true soul of this team, an Alberto Díaz who was already key in the conquest of world gold by Spain when in principle it was not on Scariolo’s list. By contrast, when American-born Bulgarian interior David Kravish is on court, they are a less versatile but more assertive team.

With these premises and with these powerful arguments emphasized by an extraordinary and solitary defense that is always led by the ‘redheaded’ captain, Unicaja gave the big bell in Badalona, ​​rising as champion of the Copa del Rey after leaving Barça in the ditch in the quarterfinals, Real Madrid in the semifinals and Lenovo Tenerife in the final.

That February 16, Barça was winning 64-53 at 6:30 from the end and seemed to have the duel under control, but the irruption of Brizuela and a blackout of those that have cost dearly to Saras’ men gave wings to the people of Malaga, who prevailed 87-89 (11-3 in extra time). Previously, the Catalan team had prevailed in the Endesa League at the Palau by 75-60 and the month following the cupbearer’s blow they repeated the league victory in Malaga by 81-86. The problem is that when it was really important it was lost.

But… What are the keys of the costasoleños? Well, an extraordinary defense on a conceptual level with continuous help and a very versatile attack, especially when he acts as a ‘five’ to power forward Dylan Osetkowski and when Carter and Perry meet on the track. That said, it will be a strong rival for Barça.