The canaries will play at home the pass to the grand final against the Tunisian US Monastir
The American Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Brazilian Sao Paulo will meet in the other semifinal
MADRID, 9 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Lenovo Tenerife begins the road to its third Intercontinental Cup this Friday with a semifinal that will measure the current champion of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the Tunisian US Monastir, in a match that will be played starting at 9:00 p.m. Canaria) in the Santiago Martín de La Laguna Pavilion.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, reigning NBA G-League champions; and the Brazilian Sao Paulo, last winner of the Basketball Champions League Americas, will face each other in the other Canarian semifinal (6:00 p.m.). The final will be played on Sunday 12 (7:00 p.m.).
The Spaniards, who this year will also dress as hosts, will try to seize the world throne, something they have already achieved in previous editions also held on the island, in 2017 and 2020. Quarterfinals in the Endesa League and qualified for the Copa del Rey, which will be played next week in Badalona, the aurinegros arrive at the continental event with high spirits after their last European victory.
The Canarian team prevailed on a new day of the Basketball Champions League against Bilbao Basket (78-66) last Tuesday. Txus Vidorreta’s men, who had just reserved Marcelinho Huertas and Giorgi Shermadini, great stars for the Canaries, in the defeat against Real Madrid (88-77) of ACB, managed to take a giant step forward in their European career.
Thus, the insular team will try, in front of their fans, to overcome a rival who has been preparing for this match for more than two weeks -they have not competed since January 19-. The Tunisians, five times league champions in their country, the last four in a row between 2018 and 2022; and two-time Cup winners, they found the prize for their growth last year with the achievement of the Basketball Africa League.
They are currently disputing the title phase of the Tunisian league, although in their last game they lost to Club Africain, thus seeing an eleven-game winning streak interrupted. Among the Africans, the signings of the American Jerome Randle, formerly of Real Betis, or the escort with experience in the Euroleague Michael Roll, with a past in Macabbi, Zaragoza and Milan, among others, stand out.
Before, the American Rio Grande Valley Vipers will open the day against the historic Sao Paulo in the American duel of the opening day. The four-time GLeague champion and the Paulista Cup champion will face each other in a high-profile duel with Jalen Lecque (19.1 points per game) as the leading figure for the North American team and Elio Corazza Neto (7.4 assists per game). match) leading the South Americans.