He Unicaja is having an outstanding season. After the performance of recent years -some without the Endesa League play-offs and/or without the Copa del Rey- and an express reconstruction with nine new players plus the later incorporation of Yankuba Sima, anyone would have signed this situation at the beginning of May. Ibon Navarro and the squad themselves have already conveyed that you always have to go for more, but the problem is that they are running into an ACB campaign that is almost record-breaking.
There is very good news for the Los Guindos club and the ‘green tide’. The Unicajaafter closing this weekend the day 30, is being the best fifth classified in history. Since the ACB reorganized the competition system in the 1994/1995 season, never before had any team in fifth place signed 21 victories at this point that the Malagans went up to their personal locker after beating a direct rival like Joventut.
However, the problem is obvious. Make history in the Endesa League It is not serving him to be placed among the four seeded heads facing the play off for the title. Lenovo Tenerife, with 22 wins -only 1 more than those of Los Guindos-, is being the great rival to beat and is the one with whom they will maintain a hand-to-hand fight in this final stretch to achieve the home court factor in the next fight for going the furthest in the fight for the national trophy.
Only on four occasions the fifth classified had managed to reach 20 victories. Zaragoza did it in the 95/96 season, Valencia in 01/02, Barça in 04/05 and Unicaja itself in 16/17, a campaign in which the long-awaited Eurocup was won. In other words, taking into account the 21 victories for compositors this year, fifth place has exceeded twenty wins in only 5 of 28 years.
It’s more, even In 16 of those 28 seasons, Unicaja would have served its current balance to occupy fourth place of the Endesa League and in 7 they should have used the average to define the order of the positions with another team.
These figures show that there are five teams with a higher level than the others and Unicaja led by Ibon Navarro is included in that group. There is a fact with which the season of the typesetters is very well understood. The green and purple team is the same wins away from Real Madrid -3rd- as from Gran Canaria -6th-. Not to mention that four games from the end eight victories separate him from the ninth place that Río Breogán occupies right now.
Now it remains to give the last arreón of the season. Anyone would have signed in September to close the Regular Phase in fifth position. However, with fourth place within reach and the possibility of having home court in the quarterfinals, the chance to be back in the ACB semifinals is more than real. First you have to beat Tenerife, complete these four days and then see the classification. Nevertheless, the history of the Endesa League already shows that what the compositor team is doing is a record and, before this, it only remains to enjoy.