Unicaja 2008-09,Team Profile
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 Unicaja
Competing in the Euroleague for an eighth consecutive season is evidence enough of Unicaja's staying power as a new classic team on the old continent. One great source of that power is Unicaja's popular support in one of Europe's southernmost basketball capitals. 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 almost two decade’s worth of sellout crowds - and that for a club that celebrated its 30-year anniversary last season. Unicaja first caught the media’s attention in 1995, when it came within a shot of winning its first Spanish League title. At the time just a few years old, having been formed in a merger of local clubs, Unicaja proved it was ready for bigger things. Its ambition 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 following 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 Euroleague presence again. 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.
2007-08 RESULTS | Euroleague | | Spanish League | R. Season | 17-17 | Playoffs | Semis | Cup | Quarters |
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Home-grown talents and current world champions Berni Rodriguez and Carlos Cabezas add to a list of stars who have proudly worn Unicaja's green uniform, such as Marcus Brown, Jorge Garbajosa, 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 growing 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. It was proven again in 2007-08, when Unicaja returned to the Euroleague Top 16 and the Spanish League semifinals, knocking off regular season champion Real Madrid in the process. Unicaja now faces the challenge of keeping its status as one of the best teams in Europe, but with an entire region solidly behind it, this team has only begun to fight for the continent's biggest prizes.
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Euroleague.net
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