By Cesare Milanti / info@Eurohoops.net
MALAGA, Spain – The second semifinal of the Basketball Champions League Final Four will see Unicaja Malaga going up against Telekom Baskets Bonn, in a clash of coaching geniuses with Ibon Navarro on one side and Tuomas Iisalo on the other.
The Finnish head coach spoke to Eurohoops following his team’s morning practice. “We’ve been working for this basically the whole season. We know the task is very tough, we play against a great opponent. But we also had a great run of games, so we feel ready for it”, he said.
As said, Telekom Baskets Bonn will have to play against the hosts of Unicaja Malaga, one of the hottest teams in Europe. “It will definitely be a huge challenge. They are an incredibly deep roster, a 12-deep with basically every player able to take over the game. They have different options, very good pick-and-roll guards, one of the best shooters in Europe in Kalinoski, an off-screen specialist in Will Thomas, the wings can post up. Then they have versatility with the bigs, deep-rollers, and short-rollers, and three-point shooting: the roster has pretty much everything you look for in a good basketball team. On top of this, they play with big energy, so we’re gonna have to come through once more to win the game”, the head coach added.
“There’s not one single matchup that will dictate this game because of the depth and quality of the roster. They have many options in there, but for sure Kendrick Perry will be one of the keys. We have to try to limit his paint touches, he’s one of the best in the whole competition in generating transition baskets. Overall, that will play a big part”, he said on Unicaja Malaga’s playmaker.
Finally, he sum up by stating one of the tactical keys of the game. “They’ve been an incredible transition offense team, generating a lot of steals and turnovers for the opponents, turning that into easy baskets. They lead the whole BCL in possession games because they’re also a very strong defensive rebounding team, and we are the best offensive rebounding team. I think that’s gonna be one of the deciding factors”, Tuomas Iisalo also said.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League