By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Unicaja Málaga defended its throne and won back-to-back Basketball Champions League titles.
The orchestrator behind this remarkable success, coach Ibon Navarro, shared his thoughts after the game.
“What we felt last season served almost as an alibi, especially after what happened in Málaga in 2023. We’re very happy now, but this isn’t the end of the process or the path—it’s just another stop along the way. These last two games, and the way we won them—finding a way to compete, staying composed despite missing open shots, and always knowing what to do, with very high concentration—have been the key. We’ve learned how to win games and how to find a way. It leaves a good taste for us.”
He even had a special scouting folder saved for Galatasaray.
“Normally I delete scouting reports from my laptop, but after that second game in Málaga against them, I kept it because I felt they could make it to the Final Four—and even the final. All credit to their coach and the Galatasaray organization. They made adjustments despite injuries and other problems. Full credit to them—they made the final and beat Tenerife.”
After winning the Intercontinental Cup, Supercopa, and Copa del Rey in Spain—and now the BCL—Unicaja turns its focus to the fight for the ACB championship.
“I don’t know. We have to enjoy this first, take some time, then make the necessary adjustments—to help the players and reset our own minds. We need to find a way to recharge and give our best for the final stretch. There’s a month, month and a half left—three games remaining in the regular season. Right now, it looks like we could face Barcelona or Real Madrid. Let’s see.”
He singled out one decisive moment from the game, while making sure to praise each of his players individually.
“One of the secrets of this team is that we have 14 or 15 players who can contribute. Every moment in the game matters. As coach Saša Đorđević once said, there is always one moment in a game when it gets decided. Today, it wasn’t Tyson, Perry, or Díaz—it was Tyler Kalinoski. Those two three-pointers in a row broke the game open.
In between, there were offensive rebounds, great defense by Alberto, an incredible effort from Melvin Ejim to come back, a first-half block by Olek, Yankuba’s energy on the offensive glass, Osetkowski’s smart decisions, the energy from Tyson Pérez, contributions from Kameron Taylor, and a couple of threes from Kendrick. All of them made important plays during the game. But for me, it was those two shots by Tyler that changed everything.”
Navarro reflected on the journey that began when he arrived in Málaga in 2022.
“There are a lot of people working here—the club, my staff. You can’t plan for this. When I arrived in 2022, I never imagined something like this could happen. You need to be lucky—not just in sports or with players, but with people.
And we got that. Even the ones who came here later—we had an idea of who they were as people, and they turned out to be even better than expected. Augusto Lima was a very important player. His behavior in the locker room, the way he lived the game… When we lost him, other players stepped up and took on his role. That created a very special chemistry.
It has nothing to do with just being good basketball players. This is not something you can expect—it just happens.”
Coach Dragan Šakota has openly spoken about his special connection with AEK Athens. Does Navarro feel the same with Unicaja?
“This team, this club, has changed our lives—forever. There’s a before and after. For the club, the city, and personally—for our players and staff—there’s a clear before and after. We found a different way to work with players, to do things differently. And it’s not easy. You have to convince players to sacrifice their egos, their stats.
Alberto Díaz got an award as Defensive Player of the Year, but I feel that many of my players—if they were on a team where they played 25–27 minutes per game—could win a lot of individual awards too. But they sacrificed that to be here and win these trophies. We’ve created a legacy, one where we put the team first.”
Navarro also recalled his first BCL Final Four appearance back in 2018 with Murcia.
“When you’re at your first BCL Final Four—like we were in Athens at OAKA—and you finish third, you think that was your only chance, that you’ll never be back, that the train has passed.
But that’s life. Sometimes you have to go through tough experiences before a new window opens. This is for everyone: we often worry too much about things that didn’t happen, or may never happen.
We need to find a way to live better—enjoy the moment—and stop stressing over things that might never come,” Navarro concluded his press conference in a philosophical tone.