We were not going to live forever in a state of absolute happiness winning the Copa del Rey, Valencia or Galatasaray. It was not going to be forever. Unicaja had it in hand in the last minutes, but, after losing for so long, it seemed that he was even afraid of winning. So UCAM Murcia left the victory at its Palace (85-80) with Thad McFadden and Travis Trice, 24 and 21 points, in their most hellish version.
It could be said that the bump has arrived – Unicaja has already lost two consecutive games on occasion this season -, although more because of the sensations of the game. As if that freshness that all of Spain had fallen in love with had been lost.. It is true that it has not been a week in which there have been breaks and that if the legs do not accompany, neither does the head, but today there was much more lacking during a large part of the match.
Unicaja was hardly recognizable for 30 minutes. Rarely had he been so cold. There was no grit behind a good action, there was no communication between the players, there was not a face that trusted that this game could be brought out. It was a powerlessness loop. And there, against a Murcia team that needed to win so as not to drop out of the playoffs and to reunite with its audience, it was very difficult to sustain. Now, it is neither a drama nor has this team become the worst in the world.
There were no rebounds (37 to 29), no assists (21 to 13) and no triples (13 to 8). So nobody could run as much as Ibon Navarro would have liked. What there was, which is the reason why the victory was dressed in red, was a festival from 6.75. If the game had lasted 60 minutes, McFadden and Trice would have kept scoring and compulsively. There was no one who managed to stop them. It was more a matter of faith than reality.
team outmatched
The first quarter was a miniseries on how to recover from the boiling state of certain players. First was Pustovyi beating Kravish and planting a maralla in his area before any typesetter. There Unicaja survived with the talent of Perry and Brizuela (7-8). Then came a McFadden unstoppable (23-14, min. 8:15) and the party still had to end Three (8 points). In other words, an unrecognizable team from Malaga without aid and without intensity on the court.
It was impossible to get out of the loop. Trice caught the ball, threw from 8 meters and tripled. It would be necessary to see if someone was not wearing Stephen Curry’s shirt instead of the UCAM Murcia one. One after the other. If it was Carter first who pulled talent, Brizuela took the reins to make it 32-28 (min. 15:52). Finally. However, nothing is further from reality. again to 44-33 at halftime without knowing how to attack or how to defend. And very important, Kravish and Sima with three fouls each.
Improving the first half was not going to be a particularly difficult task. Match it… it seemed like not so much. Unicaja’s dynamic was to respond to each blow received. However, an unexpected “hero” appeared. Jonathan Barreiro began to add in attack as if he were one of the gamers. Her aggressiveness and five points allowed us to see something else. There wasn’t much to do either. Sima also added (57-49, min. 25:47). Until the ‘short’ Murcians spoke: 67-56.
Late reaction
11 down, 10 minutes ahead. There was time. Also to get excited. Alberto Díaz, driven by a whole fan base from a distance, scored two triples (67-62) that put the team into the match. From there, there was an exchange of blows that did not benefit the typesetters at all, but as long as there was life, there was hope. After a bad match for Unicaja, there were real chances of winning. Those of Sito Alonso did not make it easy. They saw the hoop as an Olympic swimming pool, but this time the Malaga team did not give up.
First, Osetkowksi had several free throws to bring his team within 5 –another day with many failures since 4.60-. Although there was still something to say. Brizuela, Carter and Alberto pulled the car. Perry even shook the foundations of the Palacio de los Deportes de Murcia (80-76). But it was not the day. The green victory was not written. The captain missed two triples released at the last minute and that’s where it all ended (85-80). Now to rest. Limoges will come on Wednesday.