Unicaja prevents the tenth Cup final followed by Real Madrid

The compositors shone against a lost Real Madrid

Unicaja will play in the final of the Copa del Rey in Badalona after eliminating Real Madrid in the semifinals (82-93), in a match that they almost completely dominated by imposing their pace and attacking game, against a Real Madrid team that could not match the impetus and the soul of a Unicaja that will play its fourth cup final.

Those from Malaga made history by beating Barça and Madrid in the same Cup, something never done before by anyone. The compositors will play a fifth final in search of extending that feat, after playing their last Copa del Rey final in 2020, being the host, and losing it against Real Madrid.

This time, in Badalona, ​​they took revenge to access what will be their fourth final in the competition, in which they will seek to add a second title to accompany the solitary success of 2005, when they also beat the whites in Zaragoza. And it will be an unprecedented final whoever his rival is.

But Unicaja, after eliminating the current double champion Barça in the quarterfinals and Real Madrid, the current double runner-up, in the semifinals has earned the right to dream and to be considered a serious contender for the title. And it is that against Real Madrid, this Saturday, he even played a better game than against Barça.

A game in which they were ahead and knew how to stay on top, something that is not easy against a Real Madrid that usually does not let go of any game. But Chus Mateo's men couldn't match the compositor's energy, the greens motivated after beating Barça. With a fast, electric game, they opened the gap until they won by 14 and, at the key moment, they closed the rebound to dry the whites completely.

Proving that there is a bottom line in Unicaja, the absence of points from Darío Brizuela, the best against Barça, was replaced with the great game of the 'MVP' of the night David Kravish, who went to 20 points and 6 rebounds. And that Osetkowski's great streak stopped, at 14 points, when he committed the fourth foul in the third quarter, and he did not play again.

But Unicaja did not lose its collective success and with a triple from Kalinoski they prevented that fourth foul from affecting them. In fact, it was the opposite and those of Ibon Navarro knew how to adapt to the situation. More players scored, with a more choral game and with a little more rhythm. At the end of that third quarter, the 59-66 left them with a good advantage despite winning by 9.

It was difficult for Real Madrid to stop the impetus of a Unicaja who also did not miss the points from Darío Brizuela, the best against Barça and this time 'disappeared' in combat. But the whites did not prevail in the paint as expected, they could not dominate the rebound and, as soon as the game accelerated through Perry, Carter or Brizuela, they suffocated in defense and lost their ideas in attack.

The last quarter could be that of the white reaction, after barely leading the game for 5 minutes in the first half. But it was not like that. Unicaja continued with its game plan, pressed the rival and came to win 14 points on several occasions. Real Madrid caught some air with an unsportsmanlike attack on Unicaja, but at the cost of Edy Tavares, their top scorer at the time, having an eyebrow raised.

It was a clean game, but hard at the same time. In addition to Tavares, who was able to return to the track after being cured (bandage included), his teammate Dzanan Musa suffered a severe blow, who no longer returned to the track. On behalf of Unicaja, he flew and practiced the Nihad Djedovic hurdle jump after being run over. Three anecdotes from a game that Unicaja painted green to get into the final as a 'giant killer', eliminating the two clubs with the most Cups in their showcases.

DATASHEET.

--RESULT: REAL MADRID, 82 - UNICAJA, 93 (39-39, at halftime).

--EQUIPMENT.

REAL MADRID: Williams-Goss (9), Musa (10), Hezonja (2), Yabusele (6) and Tavares (19) -- the starting quintet --; Causeur (8), Hanga (3), Deck (15), Fernandez (-), Rodriguez (5), Poirier (5) and Cornelie (-).

UNICAJA: Perry (10), Carter (12), Djedovic (5), Kravish (20) and Ejim (7) --starting five--; Kalinoski (11), Barreiro (3), Diaz (2), Thomas (8), Osetkowski (14) and Brizuela (1).

-- PARTIALS: 19-17, 20-22, 20-27 and 23-27.

--REFEREES: Count, Perea and Serrano. No deleted.

-- PAVILION: Badalona Olympic.