Unicaja Malaga favorite to win the BCL Finals
Sunday we will be in front of the second Spanish finals in the history of the Basketball Champions League. Two years ago, Lenovo Tenerife smashed Baxi Manresa to lift the trophy in Bilbao. This time, Tenerife will face Unicaja Malaga, remaking last year’s battle of the Final Four.
I think both teams deserved to be here in the last act of the competition and Malaga is starting with the first chance to win it because:
- Tenerife has some problems with the roster, Aaron Doornekamp is out and Sasu Salin is not at 100%.
- Unicaja has the largest bench in the entire BCL with 13 players, while one of them has to sit out for this game
- Tenerife has older players and they cannot recover so fast after Friday’s semifinal win against Peristeri
- At the same time, Unicaja using always a larger rotation will be without a doubt in a better physical shape than their opponents
- The Andalucian squad has also a much bigger crowd of fans here in Belgrade than Lenovo Tenerife
Even if Malaga seem to have some important advantages, anything depends on their capacity to stop the magical trio of Tenerife: Kyle Guy, Marcelinho Huertas and Giorgi Shermadini, who had together more than 80 points scored in the semifinal against Peristeri Athens.
Both teams know each other very well since they have clashed so many times during the last two seasons in Spain and BCL, so there are no secrets hidden for none of them. Only inspiration and good control of each possession of the ball will decide the winner.
The article was written by Gratian Cormos, a Romanian journalist, book writer, life coach and mentor currently living in Barcelona, Spain.
If you are interested in collaborating with his website brainbasketball.net, to publish articles, interviews or other features related to basketball or for a marketing proposal, feel free to contact Gratian Cormos by Whatsapp or Telegram at this Spanish number: +34 612414486.
Photo credit: FIBA
