The group stage of the Basketball Champions League closes this week and in the case of Unicaja they will say goodbye to the tournament until … end of January. When that moment arrives, you will already know the final composition of the group in the Top-16, in which you already have a confirmed rival, Joventut. The Malaga team only has the procedure this Tuesday against Karditsa (7:30 p.m.), in a match without history, since neither of them has anything at stake.
Like Unicaja, the Catalan team has certified first place in its group and will be the rival to beat for the lead and, in this way, to have the home field factor in its favor in the quarterfinals (best of three games). It must be remembered that Badalona will be the venue for the Final Four, so the green and black team is going all out in its debut in the Champions League.
Unicaja’s other two rivals will come out of the play-in matches. On the one hand, the second in group B against the third in A, while the other will be the second in E and the third in F. Before this week’s matchday, those crosses are Elan Chalon-Legia Warszawa and Würzburg-Patrioto Levice. On paper, the French and German teams are the favorites.
Now, these crossovers are not definitive. Chalon awaits a rival, but instead of Legia Warszawa it could be the German Heidelberg and both face each other this Tuesday (6:00 p.m.) to decide which one accesses that ‘play-in’. On the other hand, Würzburg defends its second place against Trieste with a lead of fifteen points from the first leg, while Levice has a lead of 19 points in its direct duel against VEF Riga to finish third in group F.
In addition to the complexity of facing a Joventut full of experienced players such as Tomic, Hanga, Ricky Rubio or Hakanson, Würzburg’s classification would add great difficulty to the group, since the German team is a solid block and is fourth in its country’s league. For its part, Chalon is seventh in the French league, with a record of seven wins in eleven games.
