By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
No Nemanja Nedovic? No problem for Unicaja this time. The Andalusians got their first win of the season in EuroLeague without the Serbian guard by defeating Anadolu Efes 81 – 68 in Malaga.
Joan Plaza’s squad had lost their four previous games with Nedovic out and they also had a 0-3 record with Jeff Brooks injured.
Unicaja found in rebounds and defense the way to substitute the two stars. The hosts received just 28 points in the first half reaching a 12-point lead but turnovers (19 loose balls) made it a close game.
There’s a man who always has a strong impact on the game when Nedovic is out. Adam Waczynski dropped back-to-back three-pointers to make it a double-digit difference with two minutes left. The Polish forward, who averages 14 points per game without Unicaja’s leading scorer, had a hot hand and finished with game-high 20 points.
James Augustine contributed to the victory with a double-double (10 points and 12 boards) while Dragan Milosavljevic added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 dimes.
Errick McCollum had 16 points -all of them in the second half- for Efes.
With this victory, Unicaja stays three victories behind Maccabi Tel Aviv in EuroLeague standings.