Unicaja with a great chance at FC Barcelona
Tomorrow evening, FC Barcelona will host Unicaja Malaga in the Palau Blaugrana, a derby that counts for Round 29 of the ACB League.
The two teams are currently neighbours in the standings, with the team from Andalusia sitting in 4th place with a 19-9 record, while the Catalan team is 5th with 17-11, so it’s possible that the two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs and tomorrow’s game could decide the team that has the home court advantage in the series.
Barcelona had a tough week so far, as they lost both games in Monaco in the EuroLeague quarterfinals on Wednesday and Friday. Now they face another tough challenge in an important game and it remains to be seen how fresh will the blaugrana players be and how much coach Penarroya will play with the team’s biggest stars, or if he will prefer to rest some of them for next week’s Game 3 and potential Game 4 against Monaco.
Malaga had an easier schedule, as their last game was one week ago at home against Bilbao. They are also still playing in continental competitions, but in the Basketball Champions League, and their next game is only on the 9th of May against AEK Athens in the semifinals of the competition. Also, they have hopes of catching at least third-place Valencia in the standings until the end of the regular season.
Under these conditions, we can say for sure that Unicaja is not an underdog tomorrow in the Palau Blaugrana, and a win for them is a real possibility. On the other hand, a win for Barcelona could improve their morale ahead of next week’s games, where they play their last chance to book a ticket for the EuroLeague Final Four.
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: Eurosport
