7DAYS EuroCup: Unicaja Malaga wins EuroCup title

The 7DAYS EuroCup has a new champion after Unicaja Malaga overcame Valencia Basket to lift the trophy for the first time. The finals series between two Spanish clubs was not perhaps as high quality as we expected, but it delivered big time in terms of drama and excitement.

That was evidenced in Game 3, the deciding tie of the series. Malaga had tied proceedings on the south coast of Spain last Friday, so this contest headed back to Valencia with the series at 1-1. Home advantage put Valencia as favourite for the game and the 7DAYS EuroCup title. The club is also the winningest in the competitions history with three crowns, so Valencia knows how to get the job done.

It didn’t work out that way though as Unicaja Malaga secured a narrow 58-63 victory to claim Europe’s second most prestigious trophy. The game will also be remembered for one of the biggest collapses in European hoops history.

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Valencia Basket vs. Unicaja Malaga, 58-63

A packed crowd of nearly 9,000 got behind Valencia early on and the hosts responded with a slick first quarter of Basketball. Through ten minutes, Valencia led 22-18. The scoring slowed in the second quarter as the gravity of the game sunk in. Neither team wanted to make the mistake that could lose the title. Malaga edged the frame 11-12, but Valencia held the lead at 33-30 through the long break.

Emerging from the locker room for the second half, Malaga could not find momentum as Valencia seemed to all but win the game with a dominating 21-13 third act. The hosts now led 54-43 through thirty minutes and looked in control. What followed is almost inexplicable as Valencia completely crumbled under the pressure of success.

The hosts managed just four points in the fourth quarter. It was a collapse that will live long in the memory and it allowed Malaga to snatch the win and the 7DAYS EuroCup title. Trying to explain the loss, Valencia head coach Pedro Martinez said:

“We had the game where we wanted it, but we collapsed and were not able to hit some good shots. I believe that basketball is a very mental game. We were in a good mental moment in the first half, but a very bad one in the fourth quarter. Unicaja went the other way around; they hit some very important shots in the fourth quarter, especially Dani Diez. It was a tough loss and I am disappointed with this loss. I feel sad for my players and our fans. We were all very excited, but this is professional sports. We have to think about the next game right away. It is hard to find the reasons for our collapse. We missed some shots that went together with some players being tired. That allowed them to get some easy baskets and some offensive rebounds that punished us. Those small details undermined our confidence. Unicaja felt more and more confident, and that was the game.”

Alberto Diaz paced the win with 12 points, while Jamar Smith added 10 points.

Bojan Dubljevic was the only double digit scorer for Valencia with a game-high 16 points.