Unicaja’s assault on the basketball League title has begun. The Malaga team traveled Tuesday to Athens, where from Wednesday … He will try to revalidate the title of the European tournament achieved now a year ago with brilliance in Belgrade. Those of Ibon Navarro will be measured on Wednesday to the AEK, host team, for a position in the final of Sunday. In the case of Victoria, the opponent will leave the other semifinal that will play the Tenerife Laguna and the Galatasaray.
Unicaja’s arrival in Athens was initially scheduled for 18.30 in the afternoon. However, its flight was delayed an hour since the plane was on the track waiting to be able to leave for the saturation of air traffic in the surroundings of the Malaga airport. Despite this setback, the team is already staying at the Sofitel hotel, an establishment at the same Athenian airport. It will be the headquarters of all the teams participating in this Ninth Final Four of the Champions League and the nerve center of the tournament, because there will be the presentations and also the gala in which the best of the season will be chosen, awards to which several players of the Malaga team opt.
The Cajista template had dinner as soon as the team took advantage of the Hotel’s closeness with the Oaka to see live the fifth match of the Euroleague ‘Play-Off’ between the Panathinaikos and the Monaco. It was Olek Balceowski who achieved the tickets after having played last season in the Greek team.
The location of the hotel is something that the teams have not liked anything, because it is far from everything, exactly one hour by bus of the Sunnel Arena, the pavilion in which the teams will be trained and where the games will be played. At first, FIBA chose a hotel in the center of Athens with little foresight as it is a little safe neighborhood, so this new destination was finally chosen.
Unicaja is the first team to reach Athens of the three foreign. The template will meet the pavilion on Wednesday, as it plans a training in the early hour and will end at 12.00 (Spanish schedule). The drawer players will not have much free time, because in the afternoon the official photos will have to take and on Thursday it will be the turn of the presentation of the Final Four, an act in which the coaches and the captains of each of the teams will participate.
Parties schedules
The Final Four will begin on Friday with an unpredictable La Laguna Tenerife-Galatasaray, which will be played at 5:00 p.m. (one more hour in Greece). For its part, the game between the AEK and the Unicaja will be played at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday is the rest day and is reserved for the gala of recognition to the best of the season, which will be held at the hotel at a time still to be confirmed, predictably at noon. Already on Sunday, the game for the third and fourth place will be played at 16.00, while the grand final will be played at 7:00 p.m.
It must be remembered that the Unicaja, regardless of what happens in the semifinal, in the match for third place or in a hypothetical final, will fly to Malaga on Monday at 11.30 am and its arrival is scheduled for 16.30.
