MURCIA, September 17 (from Europa Press Special Envoy, Ramón Chamorro) –
Unicaja and Real Madrid meet this Sunday (7:00 p.m.) for the title of the Endesa Super Cup 2023 that is being played at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia, a duel that appears even and in which the Copa del Rey aspires to end the idyll in this competition for a Madrid team eager for revenge.
Ibon Navarro’s team and Chus Mateo’s team qualified to fight for the first official title of the 2023-2024 season after dominating their two semifinals this Saturday against UCAM Murcia (74-79) and Barça (80-90) and meet in an unprecedented final of an event that historically has been different for both of them.
And while the Malaga team will face its third final in search of adding the only national title that it lacks after losing in 2006 against Baskonia and in 2015 against FC Barcelona, the Madrid player presents himself as the ‘king’ of the Super Cup, trophy that has been lifted nine times, including the last five editions.
Unicaja aspires, in any case, to end this idyll of Real Madrid in this competition, especially encouraged after its victory in the semifinals (82-93) of the last Copa del Rey that it ended up winning, a defeat that it will want to ‘avenge’ his rival, who left good stretches in his Clásico against Barça. Both ‘rehearsed’ this final last Sunday at the Costa del Sol Tournament, with a clear 83-66 victory, although their coach already warned that neither Walter Tavares nor Guerschon Yabusele played.
This is the Basque coach’s main concern for the game due to his greatest weakness in the ‘paint’ due to the absences he has and the effort that players like Dylan Ostekowski and Will Thomas had to accumulate almost until midnight.
“We are going to play knowing that we have to multiply to be able to face a team like Real Madrid, even more so with the losses we have. I think the formula we are going to do is based above all on the competitive spirit that the team has, to know how to overcome the problems we have and to try to do it for many minutes like against UCAM. Let’s see if we can compete and if we can give joy to the people of Malaga and to those who have come here,” said Ibon Navarro before the final.
“Every match is different and now we have to face a match that is for a title and that will surely be different from the Costa del Sol Tournament because we have been preparing for another week and I hope it has been worth it. We have also recovered some important players and I hope that it will be worth it for us to confront with guarantees and fight against Unicaja,” warned Chus Mateo.
Both teams arrive with some physical problem. Navarro confirmed that he still does not know if he will be able to count on the Spanish forward Jonathan Barreiro, which reduces his rotation a little more, while Mateo warned that they are waiting to see how a key piece like the Argentine forward Gaby Deck who came out with “a little touch back.”
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
UNICAJA: Perry, Taylor, Djedovic, Osetkowski and Thomas – possible starting five – Díaz, Kalinoski, Barreiro, Carter, Diop, Ejim and Saint-Supéry.
REAL MADRID: Campazzo, Abalde, Musa, Hezonja and Tavares — possible starting quintet — Yabusele, Causeur, Poirier, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Deck and Llull.
–PAVILLION: Sports Palace of Murcia.
–TIME: 19.00/Movistar Plus.