By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BELGRADE, Serbia – Entering last year’s Basketball Champions League Final Four as Copa del Rey champions and competition’s hosts, all eyes were on Unicaja Malaga. However, Ibon Navarro’s team couldn’t get the job done coming up short against TJ Shorts and Telekom Baskets Bonn, the eventual winners. This year, Kendrick Perry and teammates have come to Belgrade ready to pull it off.
Talking right after Unicaja Malaga’s training, he touched on their path. “Looking back on the journey this season, all the work we’ve put in, all the sacrifice to get here, it shows a lot of character from our team to look back and realize we had a golden opportunity last year and we let it slip away”, he said.
After last year’s defeat, they didn’t put their heads on the ground. “We stayed resilient, dedicated, patient, and we’re back now with another chance to bring a trophy to Malaga. When I reflect on the journey this season, it’s been a great one. It’s not finished yet, but we’re here and we’re excited for the opportunity”, Kendrick Perry optimistically expressed.
Most importantly, they kept their core together, adding only Kameron Taylor to replace Dario Brizuela from last year’s defeat. “Chemistry is a big thing in basketball. The fact we were able to keep most of our core group together says a lot about the management, the coaching staff, us the players being able to buy into the system, and the ambition that is Unicaja Baloncesto. We’re taking one day at a time, we understand that even though we signed everybody back, this was a totally different season than last year’s. Other teams have gotten better, we needed to make sure we got better as well”, he commented.
Being “mentally in a really good place right now”, the former Panathinaikos player also talked about the innovative addition of the glass floor in Belgrade Arena. “It’s amazing. Once the game gets started for real with graphics on it, it will be a little bit of an adjustment. You have to credit the BCL and their innovation for what they’re continuing to do in terms of elevating the game and their league”, he said.
Finally, Kendrick Perry touched on their opponents in the Semi-Finals, UCAM Murcia. “They have done a great job of putting their team together, the pieces fit really well within that system. They do remind me a lot of how we were last year. They’re a group of guys who are all bought into the system that Murcia is preaching this year, the results have shown it thus far”, Unicaja’s own concluded.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League
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