By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
AEK Athens secured a spot in the Basketball Champions League final by defeating Unicaja 78-65 in the second semifinal.
In doing so, Dragan Sakota’s team set up a showdown with Rytas in the final, as the Lithuanians had earlier beaten Tenerife in the first semifinal.
Frank Bartley was outstanding with 16 points, while Lukas Lekavicius and James Nunnally contributed 14 points each, and RaiQuan Gray added 10. For Unicaja, only Kendrick Perry scored in double figures with 12 points and six assists, and the next top scorer was Aleksander Balcerowski with eight points.
Similar to the first semifinal, the second lacked much drama. AEK built a significant lead early on, holding their opponents to just 21 points in the first 20 minutes (37-21). Unicaja attempted to fight back, narrowing the gap to eight points (44-36) at one stage, but could not close the gap further, allowing AEK to secure their place in the trophy contest.
The clash against Rytas is scheduled for Saturday, where the winner of the Basketball Champions League for this season will be determined.
Postgame press conference: