Unicaja’s complete feat in Badalona, ??where they have signed a Cup for eternity on the Costa del Sol, knocked down in this order by Barça, Real Madrid and Lenovo Tenerife to lift the Copa del Rey for the second time 18 years after its premiere.
Little can be blamed for Ibon Navarro’s team, one of the great winners of the tournament, who stayed in the game in two very delicate sections of tremendous superiority from Tenerife and pressed in the last quarter to secure the trophy. On the other side, the tears of Marcelinho Huertas personified the feeling of an entire island, which will continue to search for its first Cup after not knowing how to close the final when it was close to victory with a hand and a half.
The final was unknown territory for Tenerife, which began with a bit of a nerve. Not much less than Unicaja, somewhat more knowledgeable in these battles but also clearly out of their comfort zone in those early stages, even though the remains of Barça and Real Madrid rested in their bundle.
The marker was slowly gaining weight, the game was a little stuck while the players were finding their place. Tenerife started with a certain advantage, with a more veteran and expert squad in finals, Europeans that you don’t win, and from very early on they tried to amortize one of the best connections in the entire league, the one that unites Zipi Marcelinho’s passes (21p). and the baskets by Zape Shermadini (20p). Able to survive with a single pivot against the two greats, Unicaja had a hard time deciphering the Georgian, who was feeding the account with his usual ease.
The final began to cheer up after the first honk and the person in charge of lighting the fuse was Marcelinho, who found the net with a triple of more than ten meters, more of the house brand than ever, as would be confirmed in the last play of the first half, when he decided to drop back even further and score from 13 meters over the buzzer. Between both triples, the parquet smoked and there was a magnificent duel.
The Canarian team seemed to confirm their favoritism and blocked Unicaja with a staunch defense while adding points with some ease. Tenerife seemed to have much more energy, which Marcelinho put ahead of until 33-26 (minute 16) which was a warning for the people of Malaga. Perry then decided to take the reins and left little stones for his companions to find the way. Although it was the offensive rebound, with one from Perry included, that kept Unicaja in the game, with 9 at halftime for none of their rivals, and equalized the forces on the scoreboard. A scenario signed by academic Kalinosky with a three-pointer (36-36), answered by Marcelinho from midfield before everyone went to the locker room.
The final had a certainly curious start to the second half. To the 0-7 that Unicaja signed with the irruption of Brizuela, the canaries responded with a 14-0 that Marcelinho rounded off with a free kick to send the second warning to the Andalusians (53-44, minute 26). But then Unicaja found the outside success again, commanded by MVP Carter’s triples, and parried the blow to send the final to the last ten minutes with the swords held high (60-60).
But with Carter without letting go of the helm, Unicaja drew his victory against a rival who only raised Marcelinho as a weapon. Osetkowski’s triple (69-77, minute 37) finally lowered the curtain. The Cup put on the shorts and traveled to Malaga. The feat was complete.
80 – Lenovo Tenerife (16, 23, 21, 20): Fitipaldo (3), Salin (7), Doornekamp (3), Cook (3), Shermadini (20) – starting five – Huertas (21), Fernandez (16), Abromaitis (3), War (4) and Rodriguez (0).
83 – Unicaja (17 20 23 23): Perry (6), Carter (17), Barreiro (8), Ejim (3), Kravish (8) -starting five- Thomas (5), Díaz (6), Brizuela ( 7), Kalinoski (14) and Osetkowski (9).
Referees: Emilio Perez Pizarro, Benjamin Jimenez and Fernando Calatrava. Without eliminated.
Incidents: Final of the Copa del Rey played at the Palau Municipal d’Esports in Badalona before 11,458 spectators. Between the first and second quarters, tribute was paid to the Spanish Basketball Federation for its centenary.
