By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Having no real problems throughout Game 1 of their Quarter-Finals series, UCAM Murcia doubled it up on the road in Germany, beating MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 85-72 in one of the team’s most important games throughout their history. They’re now qualified for the Final Four in Belgrade’s Stark Arena.
Putting together the first three-game stretch of 15+ point games of his Basketball Champions League career, Marko Todorovic was once again the protagonist of a clinic for UCAM Murcia, pushing the Spanish team with 17 points and 6 boards despite shooting 5/13 from the field.
He wasn’t the only essential asset in UCAM Murcia’s away success, followed by Dustin Sleva’s 15 points and 5 rebounds. Former Ludwigsburg guard Jonah Radebaugh scored 13 points and 6 rebounds.
After shooting perfectly in Game 1, Rodions Kurucs had another impressive effort with 10 points and 5 rebounds. “Sticking to our principles and playing defense. We played it all together. [Unicaja Malaga] is a great team, very well-built. They had a great season. We will prepare the best game possible in Belgrade, we’re planning on winning the whole thing: that’s our goal”, he commented.
Josh King’s team’s best player Jayvon Graves wasn’t as sharp as usual in this do-or-die matchup, shooting 3/11 from the field for only 12 points in the defeat. Coming off the bench, Eddy Edigin was one of the best in scoring for the black-and-yellow German team with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Desure Buie had 15 points.
After six years of absence, UCAM Murcia is now back in the Basketball Champions League Final four, coming up 3rd in the 2017-18 edition of the European competition.
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, instead, won’t come back fighting for the title after living that opportunity in the same Final Four, where they eventually lost to the Spanish team, and in the 2021-22 Final Four.
Sito Alonso’s team will now meet Unicaja Malaga in the Semifinals on April 26 after Ibon Navarro’s side also swept their Quarter-Finals opponents. The current leaders in the ACB standings and the only undefeated team in the BCL in 2024 have won 2-0 in back-to-back fashion against Promitheas Patras.
Enjoy the post-game press conference:
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League