By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
ATHENS – Kendrick Perry has been among the key players, the team leader, as Unicaja keeps lifting trophies. The latest triumph was in Athens, by conquering the Basketball Champions League Final Four powered by Sunel.
The former Youngstown State standout went from Australia and the G League to Hungary, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Greece, and Montenegro, before landing in Malaga. Since launching his stint in 2022, he celebrated two BCL championships, one FIBA Intercontinental Cup, two Copa del Rey titles, and one Supercopa Endesa.
“My thing is I’m super confident,” he mentioned in a postgame media session, following a winning showing versus Galatasaray in Sunel Arena on Sunday to complete a back-to-back in the Champions League.
“My group against anybody, whether it’s Champions League, playing against ACB teams that are playing in the EuroLeague, I’m confident in my group always. Whether we’re one of the best teams in Europe, we’ve been one of the most successful teams for sure,” added Perry, “I know for a fact we’re also one of the most confident teams.”
With Tyson Carter taking over as the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four, the 32-year-old floor general fell shy of repeating individual success in Belgrade. However, it was never about one single player based in Malaga.
“The guys were staying the course, even when we had our rocky moments during the season. At the end, we can look up and say, ‘We are champions again’,” he talked about team efforts during the 2024-25 journey, “It’s just a testament to the group that we’ve been able to put together.”
“We could have gotten stagnant, and we could’ve gotten comfortable just going through the motions. I think, at times, we did honestly. That’s the nature of a nine- or ten-month season. My job as a leader is to try to stay the course when things get a little choppy,” he continued, “I gotta credit my teammates. When it was time for us to lock in and dial in, we did.”
Longtime teammates at La Laguna Tenerife, Marcelinho Huertas and Giorgi Shermadini have scored in double-digits across eight and seven Final Four showings, respectively. Piling up 13 points against Galata, including six in the fourth quarter to push his side to a safe separation, Perry also recorded his sixth double-digit performance in the season-ending tournament of the top-tier club continental competition of FIBA Europe.
“We’ve got 15 guys committed to the end goal. We talk a lot about sacrificing for our team. Everybody sacrifices a little bit of themselves individually, but at the end of the day, it all comes together, and thankfully, it leads to championships,” he shared on the recipe for success, “I’m playing with a great group of guys. We’re playing really high-level basketball, and we’re competing day in and day out.”
Heading to the Greek capital for the championship-crowning tournament of the ninth installment of the Champions League, and despite being matched up with host AEK Betsson in the Semifinals, Unicaja was considered a favorite in the strongest Final Four field in league history.
“I think we had that experience from our first year. We kind of grew from that. We understood how to approach it,” Perry rejected such initial projections, but talked about the Final Four 2024 helped in Athens, “We can’t really dictate how to react to outside expectations. We can only control what we can control, and that’s our attitude, our effort, listening to our coach in every single practice, every single game.”
Beyond the Champions League, the team guided by Ibon Navarro earned European representation in the next edition of the Intercontinental Cup. A trip to Singapore will combine with an opportunity for another back-to-back championship. With wins and trophies, expectations certainly increase after each title, but an experienced group with chemistry stemming from multiple seasons together is likely to extend the trend of lifting trophies.
Photo Credit: FIBA