Unicaja de Málaga, which won at the Martín Carpena in the first match of the quarterfinal series, also took the victory at the Nou Congost and deflated the enthusiasm of the Baxi Manresa fans who aspired, at least, to force the third match. The Malaga machinery began to work in the second quarter after a hopeful start by the Catalans, who went to the first break with a 28-20, after a spectacular triple by Travante Williams from his field, when the buzzer was about to sound. horn.
But when Unicaja managed to take the lead (36-40), after two triples from Kalinoski, Manresa no longer raised its head, which insisted on the outside shot (7 of 37 in triples) and saw how the Malaga team passed them by. on.
A priori, a tie between first and eighth in the regular League is quite unbalanced, but in sport there is no predefined result, so at the Nou Congost they expected something else after the first match in Malaga, so the atmosphere It was the one who deserved an event that was expected to be even.
The signals that Manresa sent at first were very good, because Pedro Martínez’s team came out plugged in and managed to take command. With Moneke, Baskonia player, and former Manresa idol in the stands, dressed in red like all the local fans, the home team initially took advantage of Malaga’s mistakes under the hoop and raised the temperature in the pavilion.
Manresa’s superiority was a mirage, because Unicaja played a solid game, without haste, even with the score unfavorable. Ibon Navarro did not go crazy on the bench, and his team knew how to turn the situation around. When with two minutes left before half-time, the visiting team took the lead, there was no turning back. The second quarter partial was significant (8-20). “We have done many things so that Manresa has had the percentages it has had,” Ibon Navarro pointed out about what happened from that second quarter onwards.
With Tyson Carter leading the team, and all the players performing at a good level, Unicaja took off on the scoreboard to seal the tie long before the end of the match. “We trust in the 13 we have, because they have many good things and that gives us the chance to make the game very long for our rivals,” stated the Malaga coach.
In the end, there was disappointment in Manresa, although less so, because the fans were grateful for their team’s magnificent season, and asked the coach to continue with shouts of “Pedro, stay.” The coach thanked him: “This is the best club in the League, because of the people.”
You can follow The USA Print in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
