New Endesa League day in sight. Unicaja will host MoraBanc Andorra this coming Saturday, February 7 at the Martín Carpena, a match that will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on DAZN and ⇒Unicaja Basketball Radio. The people from Malaga, in full positive momentum after having won their last four matches in the competition, will face a team that has put an end to its poor streak of results and hopes to move away from the relegation spots.
This change in record by the Pyrenean team is determined by their main novelty on the bench: Zan Tabak. The new MoraBanc Andorra coach took the reins of the team last week, managing to reverse the negative dynamics of a team that has gone from losing 9 of its last 10 games to achieving an important victory on the last day against Dreamland Gran Canaria (94-78).
Tabak, who replaced a historic member of the Unicaja bench such as Joan Plaza, also had a past in the Malaga team, as he was part of the squad in the 2004-05 season, becoming champion of the Copa del Rey. His assistant coach is Paco Vázquez, who also defended the Club’s colors between the 2000-2002 seasons, winning the 2001 Korac Cup. It will be curious, therefore, to have two former players of the team in front of us leading the reins of MoraBanc Andorra.
The Andorrans, as has already been said, are in the midst of a fight to get out of the relegation spots. Currently they mark permanence, with 5 wins and 13 losses, 2 more wins than the penultimate team (Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos) and four more than the bottom team, Coviran Granada. Among their ‘victims’ this current season are Bàsquet Girona (115-113), Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos (86-93), Coviran Granada (86-81), last day Dreamland Gran Canaria (94-78), and Unicaja, whom they beat by 98 to 74 last November. A victory at Carpena, therefore, would help build a good dynamic for the visitors to get closer to the goal of continuing one more year in the Endesa League.
Data
At a statistical level, MoraBanc Andorra is the second team in the competition that scores the most free throws (20.89), with the fourth best success percentage (78.83%). In addition, he has the fifth best percentage of success in triples (36.89%), being the ninth in scoring the most triples (10); and the sixth that receives the most fouls (23.1 per crash).
As for the Pyrenean squad, there is one name that stands out above the rest: Shannon Evans. The American combo with a Guinean passport is one of the great scorers in the Endesa League in recent years and, one more year, he proves it again: 13.8 points, 5.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 recoveries signify a leading player in the MoraBanc Andorra schemes. He is accompanied on the perimeter by shooter Kyle Kuric (13.2 points, with 51.3% in triples scoring 2.4 per game), all-rounder Stan Okoye (9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds), Aaron Best (7.6 points, 2.2 rebounds), Kostas Kostadinov (4.4 points) and Chumi Ortega (2.3 points).
In the direction, a well-known face at Martín Carpena like Rafa Luz, the former Unicaja youth player gives them pause (5.1 points, 3.1 assists). It should be noted that Xavier Castañeda, who began the season at Unicaja, is on loan to the Andorran team, but will not be in the duel due to a muscle injury that will keep him out for several weeks.
In the paint, the 219 centimeters of Artem Pustovyi (10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds), joined by Morris Udeze (6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds), Justin Mckoy (6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds), Yves Pons (7.2 points, 3.1 rebounds) and the former Unicaja player Rubén Guerrero (2.6 points, 2.6 rebounds), complete the interior battery.
Local domain
Both teams have met 27 times throughout their history in the Endesa League, with 19 wins and 8 losses for Unicaja. At home, this record is even more favorable for the people from Malaga, where they have achieved 11 wins for only 2 losses. The last time they met was in the Principality in November, with a 98-74 defeat.
⇒ALL PRECEDENTS
old acquaintances
The match will see a series of reunions between the members of both teams. On the MoraBanc Andorra side, Rafa Luz (2009-2011), Rubén Guerrero (2019-2022), Zan Tabak (2004-05) and Paco Vázquez (2000-2002) will meet again with what was once their team.
On the Malaga side there will also be reunions. Ibon Navarro was in charge of the Pyrenean team from 2018 until January 2022, being the step prior to his arrival in Malaga. Another is Tyson Pérez, who belonged to the Andorran team discipline from 2019 to 2023, being in the 2022-23 season on loan first to BAXI Manresa and later to Real Betis Baloncesto. Once he signed for Unicaja, he was on loan for one more season, 2023-24, at MoraBanc Andorra, after which he landed on the Costa del Sol.
Unicaja will face MoraBanc Andorra this Saturday, February 7, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Carpena. The match, corresponding to Matchday 19 of the Endesa League, will be broadcast by DAZN and ⇒Unicaja Basketball Radio.
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