February 09, 2012
Unicaja Team Profile
UnicajaWith equal parts inspiration and perseverance, Unicaja continued its steady climb to the upper echelon of European Basketball during the 2006-07 season by recording its first-ever Final Four appearance. Playing in the Euroleague for a seventh consecutive season is evidence of Unicaja's staying power, despite the fact that the club suffered an early exit in last season's Spanish League playoffs. One great source of that power is Unicaja's popular support in one of the southernmost locations in Europe. On a clear day in Malaga, you can see to Africa, and the line to get tickets for Unicaja almost stretches that far, too. Basketball fever has been sweeping Malaga for more than a decade’s worth of sellout crowds, 10,500 per game for most of that time. The team first caught the media’s attention in 1995, when Unicaja was just a shot away from winning its first Spanish League title. A young Unicaja, just a couple years after being formed in a merger of local clubs in Malaga, Spain, proved it was here to stay. Its fan loyalty was rewarded in spring of 2001 when the team took home the Korac Cup, the first trophy of any kind in club history. Although a second trophy was a few years away, Unicaja spent the next seasons knocking hard for more chances. It reached the Spanish League finals in 2001-02, advanced to the Euroleague Top 16 in 2002-03, and battled to the domestic semifinal playoffs in 2003-04 to guarantee its presence in the continent's top competition.
2006-07 RESULTS
Euroleague
R. Season
7-7
Top 16
4-2
Quarters
2-1
Final Four
Semis
Spanish League
R. Season
17-17
Playoffs
Quarters
Unicaja fell victim to tiebreakers after the 2004-05 regular season and did not reach the Top 16, but soon followed that with a thrilling run to its second trophy ever, the Spanish King's Cup. The next year Unicaja continued to make history, winning its Euroleague regular season group by matching the best record in that phase. At the end of that season, the hard work paid off as the club lifted its first-ever Spanish League title. Home-grown talents and current world champions Berni Rodriguez and Carlos Cabezas add to a list of stars who have proudly worn Unicaja green such as Marcus Brown, Jorge Garbajosa, Veljko Mrsic, Sergei Babkov, Nacho Rodriguez, Michael Ansley and Louis Bullock. The team’s bench has hosted coaching greats like Bozidar Maljkovic, Sergio Scariolo and Javier Imbroda. Unicaja’s march to the 2007 Final Four extended its recent string of success to the Euroleague, and an admirable third-place showing in Athens despite key injuries proved the point again: this club belongs in the elite. To stay on top is even more difficult, but that is Unicaja's lofty goal from now on – to keep winning against the very best teams in Europe.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Euroleague.net
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