By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Among the newest entries in the Basketball Champions League, Unicaja won Group C of the Regular Season after blowing out Nizhny Novgorod at home Wednesday.
“It was one of our goals for sure,” head coach Fotis Katsikaris commented on advancing to the next round.
The team based in Malaga enjoying the support of the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena crowd also made short work of JDA Dijon and Lavrio Megabolt at home. The average winning margin was set at 23 points after becoming the fifth team to ensure a spot in the Round of 16. Baxi Manresa, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Galatasaray Nef, and Tofas Bursa had previously clinched.
“We wanted to make sure we put no doubt out there and don’t leave anything undone,” said Micheal Eric after the third home win and fourth overall in the BCL, “We worked so hard to make sure that everybody was in a position to be successful tonight.”
Eric, 33, was among the few offseason additions as Unicaja was preparing for the transition to FIBA’s premier club continental competition. Two-time NBA champion Norris Cole and Jonathan Barreiro were the remaining newcomers. They all had one thing in common, previous experience in the BCL.
Basketball Champions League track record
The Nigerian big man helped Turk Telekom in the 2020 Final 8 and logged six more appearances in the 2020-21 Regular Season before switching to CSKA Moscow for the remainder of the season. He has been the driving force in early success for Malaga with 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per contest.
Cole, 33, made his way to nine games as a part of the Sidigas Avellino team in 2018. He put up 16.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per contest. So far this season, he has contributed 7.6 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Barreiro, 24, went through a couple of Champions League campaigns recording 33 appearances playing at Casademont Zaragoza. After five years in the Aragon region, the Real Madrid youth academy product joined Unicaja. His 2021-22 averages are 3.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per contest.
Greek play-caller Katsikaris is no stranger to the Champions League, having coached Tenerife in the bottom end of the 2017-18 season. That run concluded in the Round of 16 as UCAM Murcia advanced through a home-and-away Playoffs series.
Defensive touch
Unicaja means business, especially on defense. The team has conceded only 66.6 points per game over the first five Champions League showings. The best 2021-22 defense suffocated the Group C rivals leading to ranking first despite the loss to Dijon in France.
| Top 10 | Points Allowed |
| 1. Unicaja | 333 |
| 2. JDA Dijon | 340 |
| 3. Baxi Manresa | 355 |
| 4. Rytas Vilnius | 365 |
| 5. Darussafaka | 367 |
| 6. Prometey | 374 |
| 7. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem | 376 |
| 8. NutriBullet Treviso | 377 |
| 9. Hapoel U-NET Holon | 378 |
| 10. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg | 379 |
The saying “defense wins championships” comes into play in a way early look. Out of the ten teams with the least points allowed this season, only one team has not secured at least a place in the Play-In Round. However, plenty more defense is necessary before a real discussion regarding the next champion.
Next 2021-22 step
Unicaja was certainly built as a contender. Returning players Tim Abromaitis, Jaime Fernandez, Axel Bouteille, Dario Brizuela, Alberto Diaz, Yannick Nzosa, Ruben Guerrero, Francisco Alonso, and captain Carlos Suarez shape a sense of continuity for the green and whites. Paired with the aforementioned newcomers and the guidance of experienced head coach Katsikaris definitely make a very strong team more than capable for an extended run in the BCL.
Securing the top seed in Group C moves the Andalusian team directly in the Round of 16. The second and third seeds of all eight groups will battle it out in January while Unicaja and the remaining group winners will be waiting for the next round’s four groups of four teams each to be completed. A fresh double-legged round-robin six-game schedule will progress the top two teams of each group to the Quarterfinals, one step away from the Final Four.
Rich history
As Caja de Ronda before merging with CB Maristas de Malaga in 1992, the team introduced itself to the European club competition stage with a couple of early exits in the 1989-90 and 1990-91 editions of Korac Cup. Five years later, in 1995-96 started the streak of European campaigns stretching into the 27th year in a row and the BCL. Winning the penultimate Korac Cup season in 2001 and the EuroCup in 2017 display the know-how for the team based in Malaga aiming to add yet another continental title to the list.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League