This Friday begins the Final Four of the Basketball Champions League, which grows year after year due to the level of the teams that compete and the amount of the prizes that it distributes. One of the best editions of all time Lenovo Tenerife defends the title obtained last in Bilbao against BAXI Manresa against a pedigree rival, Hapoel Jerusalem (5:30 p.m.), which is accompanied by more than 1,500 followers. This team has a continental tournament in its showcases, the 2004 ULEB Cup (it would be equivalent to the current Eurocup or the BCL itself) in which they defeated Real Madrid. The Canaries will have 400 fans and the endorsement of great players like Shermadini and his famous hook, the talent of the eternal Marcelinho, Cook, Fitipaldo or Abromaitis.
Hapoel Jerusalem, the best defense so far in the BCL. Third in the Israeli league, where they have already won the Cup. Trained by the Serbian Aleksandar Dzikic, they have resources in attack. From Speedy Smith, Zach Hankins, Levi Randolph, Siim-Sander Vene and Itay Segev.
Immediately afterwards (8:30 p.m.) second semifinal between Unicaja and Telekom Bonn. The Cup champion, host and with cruising speed, will face a classic German team led by the Finn Tuomas Iisalo. Revelation coach in Germany. It is an intense team. Build on offense from an overwhelming defense. TJ Shorts carries the handle. American point guard of 1.75 meters that defends, scores and assists. Chosen MVP of the regular league in Germany and contender for the title of best player in the BCL as well. Not forgetting Jeremy Morgan, Tyson Ward, Karsten Tadda, Leon Kratzer and Finn Delaney
The people of Malaga, with the great support of their fans, want to assert the home court factor. More than 8,000 fans in front of 400 Germans who will be noticed. Ibon Navarro will be able to count on his entire arsenal (except the long-term injured Augusto Lima). A complicated duel that Alberto Díaz perfectly defines: “We are two very similar teams”.
Unicaja and Telekom met in the 1998 Korac Cup in the group with a victory for each one. Times of Babkov, Nacho Rodriguez, Kenny Miller or Benkhe in the German command.
juicy prizes
Winning the BCL has a prize of one million euros, finishing second is 400,000 euros; 200,000 euros for the third and 140,000 the fourtheither. In this sense, the president of Unicaja, Antonio Jesús Lópe Nieto recalls that his team has received nothing for winning the recent Cup. “Zero. The Copa del Rey is a competition that is within the ACB and generates more expenses for the teams that go than for those that do not play. In the end, due to certain issues of infrastructure, protocol and such, it is an issue that I want to address at the ACB Assembly. I do not intend to quantify it further, but that, in some way, the expenses are compensated before making the general distribution. It is not logical that you have a competition of that level and go to the general cast. Maybe there are people who do not share my opinion and I respect that. We will work on that line. But not thinking only of our benefit, but in general”.
This is how the president plans it while admitting that the BCL is eating the toast of the Eurocup “I hope that over time both competitions will come together,” he recently commented in As.
Unicaja will play its 500th match in Europe this Friday against Telekom Bonn. It’s been 30 years, 28 of them uninterrupted, traveling around the Old Continent… A great anniversary for a great club,
Rematch of the Cup?
For some time now, the matches between Unicaja and Lenovo Tenerife are becoming a classic. It is true that the canaries usually go through the verdimorados… until the final of the Cup in Badalona won by the people of Malaga. An exciting Spanish final cannot be ruled out, as long as they both get past their respective opponents.