By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Game 1 proved to be an important statement in the Martin Carpena Arena: Unicaja Malaga was able to survive Promitheas’ late comeback attempt, getting the job done to open their Quarter-Finals series. Tonight, another proof of the Spanish team’s dominance came in Greece.
Pushing up the heat to end the third quarter with a 12-0 scoring run, Ibon Navarro’s squad maintained the lead all the way until the final whistle, winning 90-83 in Patras. This means qualification to the second straight Basketball Champions League Final Four after hosting last year’s competition.
Coming off the bench, Tyler Kalinoski dragged his team in scoring with a season-high 23 points by shooting 5/10 from beyond the arc. “We were missing some shots, but we knew what to do. We played hard, we ran, and that was the key”, he commented in the post-game flash interview.
David Kravish was on another level for the Andalucian team in the decisive victory on the road, contributing with an all-around game of 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kameron Taylor added 13 points on the scoreboard.
Hunter Hale ended the encounter with a huge 31-point losing effort. “They made some big plays down the stretch, they’re a really good team, well-coached. I had to clean that up, I’m happy for our guys and what we’ve accomplished this season. Nobody expected us to be here”, he commented after the loss.
After scoring 20 or more points in each of his previous four games in Patras, his partner Anthony Cowan Jr. couldn’t contribute to his team’s victory as he dropped 14 points in the defeat. Jaime Echenique, instead, added 16 points.
Unicaja‘s latest defeat in this year’s Basketball Champions League came in Greece, as Peristeri won 76-73 against the Spanish side back in December. From then on, however, they entered an eight-game winning streak, going to the BCL Final Four as the competition’s only unbeaten team in 2024.
Promitheas Patras came back to playing in the Basketball Champions League after five years away from FIBA’s best club competition. They ended their European campaign with a solid Quarter-Finals participation, surviving the Play-Ins against Le Mans after ending the Regular Season as 3rd in their group. In the Round of 16, the black-and-orange club came up 2nd in Group L.
Enjoy the post-game press conference:
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League