MADRID, Jan. 13 (SportsFinding) –
Barça-Valencia Basket, Real Madrid-RETAbet Bilbao Basket, Iberostar Tenerife-MoraBanc Andorra and Unicaja-Casademont Zaragoza will be the quarterfinal matches in the Copa del Rey de Málaga, to be played at the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace between on February 13 and 16.
The 'innocent hands' of local actors Pablo Puyol and Canco Rodríguez decided the pairings of the draw held at the Picasso Museum in Malaga, which grouped Barça and Real Madrid in the same part of the picture. In this way, Blaugranas and whites could only face each other in a hypothetical semifinal and the final of the last two years in Las Palmas and Madrid cannot be repeated.
Barça and Valencia Basket will open the competition on Thursday the 13th (7:00 p.m.) in a great confrontation between Euroleague clubs. The Catalans occupy the second position of the League to a victory of Real Madrid, while the 'taronja' had to wait until the last day of the first round to qualify after beating the Joventut.
This season both teams have already faced each other in three competitions and in all they won Barça with tight markers: in September in the Endesa Super Cup semifinals (71-65) and in October first in ACB (97-94) and then in Euroleague ( 83-77). Before the Cup they will still have one more test, since on February 5 they will be measured in La Fonteta in European competition.
MUMBRÚ REINCOUNTS WITH REAL MADRID
The winner of this tie will look for the semifinal against Real Madrid or RETAbet Bilbao Basket, which will play the second round on Thursday (21.30).
The white team, wanting to take it out in the competition after succumbing the last two years in paths and controversial final against Barça, arrives warned by the danger of the Basque team, which in its return to the top category has signed a great first round until stand in fifth position.
In fact, the 'men in black' share with Casademont Zaragoza the honor of being the only clubs that have been able to beat Real Madrid and Barça this season. They took the victory before the first in an exciting duel in Miribilla (82-81) and this Sunday they conquered the Palau Blaugrana (92-94) to get into the Cup. It will be a special tie for his coach Álex Mumbrú, who wore the White shirt for five seasons.
ZARAGOZA RETA TO HOST
For Friday, the other two semi-final duels will remain, where four clubs have a great opportunity to make history, since no Euroleague club is listed in this part of the table. Three of them play on Thursday and the other, Kirolbet Baskonia, failed to get a ticket for the tournament.
That day the action will begin with the meeting between Iberostar Tenerife and MoraBanc Andorra (19.00). The Canarian team, which arrives as head of the series after adding 11 league and semi-final victories in the last two editions, will try to repeat the precedent of last month, when it prevailed in the Principality (76-86) on the thirteenth day.
In addition, the other revelation team of the first round, Zaragoza, will try to endorse its great trajectory against Unicaja (21.30), a club wrapped in doubts that could not get a ticket for sports merits and that had to appeal to its host role. The Aragonese team already conquered Martín Carpena three weeks ago (75-81) on day 14.
– PROGRAM OF THE CUP OF THE KING.
-Thursday.
B) Barça – Valencia Basket 19.00.
A) Real Madrid – RETAbet Bilbao Basket 21.30.
-Friday.
C) Iberostar Tenerife – MoraBanc Andorra 19.00.
D) Unicaja – Casademont Zaragoza 21.30.
-Saturday.
Winner B – Winner A 18.30.
Winner C – Winner D 21.00.
-Sunday.
Final 18.30.