Ginés Munoz
Badalona (Barcelona), 19 Feb. Unicaja culminated in Badalona, against Lenovo Tenerife (80-83), its great work in the Copa del Rey, which it won for the second time in its history after eliminating Barça and Real Madrid in the previous rounds , a feat no team ever did in the ACB era.
The Malaga team, which approached its fourth final this Sunday and which had only won the title at Zaragoza 2005, overcame the great play of Marcelinho Huertas (21 points and 10 assists) and Giorgi Shermadini (20 points and 9 rebounds) with a choral performance that went from less to more.
Tyson Carter (17 points, all after the break) and Tyler Kalinoski (14) backed a hard-fought victory for the team of composers from the perimeter that was forged in the last quarter, when Lenovo Tenerife, the oldest team in the tournament, finished heartbroken at the physical superiority of his rival.
The electric match began with both teams playing at full speed and maximum intensity from the initial jump. Txus Vidorreta and Ibón Navarro moved the bench over and over to keep up the pace and tension and the first quarter was a constant exchange of blows.
Kravish sparked hostilities for Unicaja with some action, after Cook’s opening field goal. And Salin and Barreiro joined the party from the triple.
Shermadini appeared, first, and Guerra, later, for Tenerife, and the second composition unit, with Thomas, Alberto Díaz and Kalinoski, in a first quarter with minimal advantages from one team to another and with constant alternations on the dashboard.
The triple on Kalinoski’s horn closed the first set with an advantage for Unicaja (16-17). Again, the American keeper scored early in the second, but then Marcelinho Huertas appeared to level the game on the edge of possession.
Under the masterful direction of the Brazilian point guard and the power of Shermadini in the racket, the aurinegro team managed to put ground in the middle with an 8-0 which gave them a 7-point lead (33-26, min .16) . , a sinkhole as the party prepared.
But Vidorreta put Fitipaldo on the right track to rest Huertas and Unicaja breathed a bit more relieved. Navarro’s men looked for attacks in transition thanks to their dominance in the offensive rebound, but they ended up crashing against the island block’s tough defense.
Despite everything, a basket from Perry, a 2+1 from Ejim and another hat-trick from Kalinoski again leveled the match (36-36), and Thomas, from a free kick, gave the Malagasy a minimal advantage.
But by then Huertas, who finished the first half with 8 points and 5 assists, had already returned to the field to play the last possession with a stratospheric triple that closed the match 39-37 at the end of the game. half time.
Brizuela appeared early in the restart scoring five points which, along with two free throws from Osetkowski, gave the Andalusian side a +5 margin (39-44).
But a hat-trick from Salin, two baskets from Shermanidi and seven consecutive points from Huertas turned things around (53-44, min. 26) with a 14-0 that forced Navarro to request a timeout.
Unicaja reacted at the end of the third period with the furious irruption of Carter’s superclass -10 points in this quarter- and an almost infallible Kalinoski from the hat-trick to equalize the electronic score again (60-60) ten minutes from time. the end.
Carter continued with a hot wrist in the fourth quarter, as did Huertas, but the Cup grandfather began to run out of gas to also fully utilize himself in every defensive action.
A basket from Kalinoski and a robbery from Thomas with a buddy included still had the reply of Huertas and Shermadini (67-69, min.34), but Tenerife had no more strength.
Unicaja pushed in defense and Barreiro and Osetowski shot 6.75 to give their side an eight lead (69-77, min. 37). The team from Tenerife, who were playing their first final, could barely make up for the result. And Jaime Fernández, with a triple on the horn, put the final 80-83.
– Data sheet:
80 – Lenovo Tenerife (16+23+21+20): Fitipaldo (3), Salin (7), Doornekamp (3), Cook (3), Shermadini (20) -starting five- Huertas (21), Fernández ( 16 ), Abromaitis (3), Guerra (4) and Rodríguez (-).
83 – Unicaja (17+20+23+23): Perry (6), Carter (17), Barreiro (8), Ejim (3), Kravish (8) -starting five- Thomas (5), Díaz (6 ), Brizuela (7), Kalinoski (14) and Osetkowski (9).
Referees: Emilio Pérez Pizarro, Benjamin Jiménez and Fernando Calatrava. Not deleted.
Incidents: Final of the Copa del Rey played at the Palau Municipal d’Esports de Badalona in front of 11,458 spectators. Between the first and second quarters, a tribute was paid to the Spanish Basketball Federation for its centenary. ECE
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