ACB – semi-final – working day 2
A spectacular third quarter by UCAM Murcia (16-30) helped them attack the Martín Carpena for the second time in three days and leave Unicaja, leader of the regular League, hanging on the wire and will travel to the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia with two defeats. and the need to make a victorious hat trick to reach the final. And never has a team been able to overcome a 0-2 deficit in the ACB semifinals. Anything can happen, but the statistics favor the people of Murcia.
Stupefied, the people of Malaga, who had not lost a third set since last January, watched as Kurucs overwhelmed with 13 points while his teammates ran like lightning and the local team lost balls as if there were no tomorrow.
Sito Alonso did not surprise, did he?, presenting the match against Unicaja in the same way as two days before, on the same stage. The area that gave the Malaga team so many problems, when they played in a static attack, was repeated after the success of the first match of the semifinal. “There was no way,” the coach of the Murcia team recalled after the first game, referring to the streak of eight consecutive defeats against the Malgueños, broken by an intelligent approach, well executed by his men.
So why change the way you play if it’s going well. Unicaja did not interpret it at first, as they immediately found themselves behind on the scoreboard. Morin (9 points), punished the Malaga basket, well escorted by Kurucs (5), who warmed up as the game progressed, while in Unicaja it was Osetkowski and Carter who tried to maintain the level, and prevent him from leaving in the UCAM marker. After the noise of the first 10 minutes, the score favored the visitors (21-25) although the margin was narrow.
The second set began the same, with the Murcians firm in their idea. Running on the counterattack after losses in attack by Unicaja, but a good run by Ibon Navarro’s men put them ahead on the scoreboard with 1.30m remaining, and until half-time the two teams alternated. The Málaga team went to the locker room with a minimal advantage, but with the fly behind their ear, because their game was not enough to clearly overcome UCAM.
And they had reasons, because in the second half the Murcian team overwhelmed, especially in the third quarter. Convinced of themselves, aggressive in defense and when it came to capturing rebounds, playing with intelligence in a static attack, at the pace set by Howard Sant-Roos, and fast when it was necessary to run, Sito Alonso’s men silenced Martín Carpena without giving a chance. options for the locals, who were diluted in the final minutes due to the effectiveness of Hakanson, Sleva, Morin and Kurucs, who with 21 points destroyed their rivals in attack. “We have to be ourselves again,” Ibon Navarro pointed out at the end. If not, Murcia can start celebrating the final now.
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