Pallacanestro Reggiana surrenders, with honor, Malaga goes to the Final Four

Reggio Emilia, April 16, 2025 – Unahotels' dream of taking Malaga to game 3 and having another chance to reach the Bcl Final-Four is shattered at the PalaBigi, because Unicaja proves, even in via Guasco, to be deeper, more consistent and more solid from an athletic point of view than the red and whites. Priftis' boys try, they even put their heads in front on a couple of occasions and they stay glued to the match until the last minute; but intellectual honesty requires that we admit that the Spaniards, despite having had to give their all to prevail, always kept the ball in their hands. Sometimes more solidly, sometimes, thanks to the red and white defensive aggression, with greater difficulty. Reggio still comes out of the competition with its head held high. Unahotels starts with a very clear imperative addressed to the opponents: "Tonight we will hit", after the extreme aggression shown by Malaga in game 1. In fact, very little is scored, but the red and white defense is simply amazing, in terms of reading and determination. So much so that it leaves the highly rated Spanish team with just 2 points in almost seven minutes. While on the other front an unleashed Cheatham scored 7 of the team's first nine points. In the final minutes Reggio lost a bit of “verve” allowing the Iberians to get closer. With the scoreboard, at the first siren, still indicating the internal +5. The start of the second period, however, is favorable to Unicaja who scores a 10-0 run and takes the lead, with Priftis forced to take refuge in a time-out to try to patch things up. The Reggio reaction arrives and slows down the Atlantic wave, unfortunately only temporarily, because thanks to a greater defensive intensity and an improved percentage from long distance, Navarro's troops place another push, until taking a seven-point lead (26-33) at half-time. The guests' push continued until they took a double-digit lead, then it was up to the everlasting Jamar Smith to take the team on his shoulders and lead them, practically single-handedly, to avoid further losses. Bringing it to the long interval down by 9. A nice flash from Faried, on his return to the parquet, starts the red and white charge, which picks up speed in defense and finds the baskets needed to get closer and even the score at 7' (54-54). Unahotels also puts its nose ahead before showing up at the final 10 minutes behind by a hair's breadth. The last quarter was a balancing act, with Unicaja holding the inertia but unable to detach Reggio, who, with heart and claws, remained attached to the match. Just when Barford and his teammates could try to regain the initiative, a bad turnover and two "bombs" scored with pure talent, on the other side, by an unleashed Perry, dug a new furrow in the 5th minute (61-68). It's a push that would take down a bull, but not this year's Pallacanestro Reggiana, which still fights with courage, despite the undoubted superiority of the guests, especially in the phase under the boards.

The little table

UNAHOTELS: Barford 12, Winston 12, Faye 6, Gombauld, Smith 14, Uglietti, Vitali 3, Faried 16, Grant, Chillo, Cheatham 9. Ne: Fainke. Coaches: Priftis UNICAJA: Perez 9, Osetkowski 11, Balcerowski 5, Kalinoski 3, Taylor 8, Barreiro 2, Diaz 7, Carter 9, Dedovic 6, Tillie 11, Kravish 1, Perry 10. Coaches: Navarro Referees: Gvidas Gedvilas (Lit), Martin Vulic (Cro), Gintaras Maciulis (Lit) Partials: 17-12, 37-46, 56-58 Notes: 3-point shots: Unahotels 9/24, Unicaja 11/36, free throws: Reggio Emilia 11/11, Malaga 9/15. Rebounds: 29-33.