UCAM Murcia is one step away from the feat and Unicaja seeks the impossible
A 0-2 deficit in the semifinals has never been overcome, but Unicaja recovered from a 0-2 deficit in the Playoff quarterfinals.
BARCELONA, 31 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
UCAM Murcia receives Unicaja this Saturday at the Murcia Sports Palace (6:00 p.m.) in the third game of their Endesa League Playoff semifinal series, with a favorable 0-2 for the Murcia team obtained in Malaga and the subsequent two match balls in their favor to make history, while Unicaja must do the ‘impossible’ to be in the final.
He jumped the bench at Martín Carpena and twice. Unicaja, leader of the Regular League, lost before its fans in the first two matches of this semifinal against a UCAM Murcia that, fifth, was already the only non-seeded team to advance to the quarterfinals after eliminating Valencia Basket.
Now, at the Palacio de Deportes in Murcia, Sito Alonso’s team has two options to advance to the final and to do so at home, which would be the first in the club’s history. It was something that seemed almost utopian but could be a reality, since it is within reach of victory. And, very badly and in case of a double defeat and the series tied again, they would appeal to win again in Malaga.
The Murcians have never come this far and they want to reach the final. After the feat of attacking Carpena twice, they know that now the pressure is on them and that they are the new favorites. A pressure that they will have to deal with in order to complete the feat and not die on the shore.
At the moment, despite the absences they had for this Playoff – without their two pillars Simon Birgander and Marko Todorovic -, UCAM Murcia is celebrating the great form of the ‘newcomer’ Yannis Morin. He was key in the victory of the first game and also in the 0-2, being a wall in defense in addition to adding 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 dunks for a PIR of 19.
But in front of them they will have a Unicaja team eager for revenge. Those from Malaga are on the ropes but they have been in similar situations before and have made history. In fact, only one team has come back from a 0-2 deficit in the history of the Endesa League Playoff, and it was Unicaja by turning around the quarter-final match against Etosa Alicante in 2005.
In the semifinals, they have never before turned around a 0-2 lead. And that’s what Ibon Navarro’s men are going for, who will have to change their chip after the disappointment of the first two games. Duel by duel, they know that if they win three games – and they can do so, given their good performance in the Regular League – they will be in the final.
But the history of the acb is stubborn and Unicaja will have to sweat, a lot, to change it. A 0-2 deficit has never been overturned in a Playoff semifinals. So far there have been 66 best-of-five ties and there have only been four precedents with a 0-2 for the visitors and always the team that got that advantage got into the final.
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
UCAM MURCIA: Ennis, Hakanson, R.Kurucs), Sleva and Morin –possible starting quintet–; Diagné, Caupain, Radebaugh, Sant-Ross, Flores, Jelinek and Falk.
UNICAJA: Carter, Perry, Barreiro, Thomas and Kravish –possible starting quintet–; Perry, Osetkowski, Kalinoski, Ejim, Taylor, Díaz, Djedovic and Sima.
–REFEREES: Jiménez, Serrano and Manuel.
–PAVILLION: Murcia Sports Palace.
–TIME: 18.00/Movistar+.