When UCAM won for the first and, until last Saturday, only time 18 games in the Endesa League, it did not combine the domestic competition with the European competition, a right to cross borders that it earned that 2015-16 season for the next one. And, when he played his only 'Final Four' so far, in 2018 in Athens, his good season in the Endesa League did not obtain the 'playoff' prize, ending with equal wins and losses, 17, but two wins away. and 'basket-average' of the qualifying rounds for the title.
With six games left until the conclusion of the regular league, the current UCAM already has 18 victories, a cushion of three above the pursuers, and is just one game away from entering the 'Final Four' of the Champions League of Belgrade, between April 26 and 28, this afternoon at 8:00 p.m. against Riesen, who won the first point of the best-of-three quarter-final tie last Wednesday in Murcia (98-72 ). If there is a German victory, the tiebreaker will be played at the Palace next Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
On the fast track
Having played on Saturday afternoon in Badalona, UCAM wanted to make the trip to Germany as comfortable as possible and, after spending the night in Catalonia, they took a direct flight from Barcelona to Stuttgart, the European motorsport city par excellence, where brands were born. like Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and just twelve kilometers from Luisburgo, where the UCAM has been sleeping since Sunday.
To tie the series, Ariel Hukporti could debut at Riesen, who returns to prepare his jump to the NBA
An atypical and grateful trip for what UCAM is used to in this Champions League, and at the most opportune moment. Precisely on Sunday, when the university students were already resting in Ludwigsburg, Riesen played their German league match in Berlin, with a defeat against an Alba (100-91) team that they could have been one victory away from having won. It is the second consecutive game that Josh King's team has lost against a direct rival in the domestic competition, since before coming to Murcia they fell with a resounding defeat against Ulm (60-94) and, with UCAM, it is the third game in a row with more than ninety points scored.
Thus, Sito Alonso's men will seek to make this a duel of contrasts, delve into the German wound and be able to focus on the last push for the Endesa League playoff before the break in the Final Four.
new faces
To narrow down its options, Riesen will present today as a novelty a future NBA player, the 21-year-old, 2.13-meter-tall German-Togolese Ariel Hukporti. The center arrives on loan from Melbourne, where he has played the last three seasons in the Australian league, to return to a team in which he played between 2018 and 2020, making his debut in the German first division at the age of 16. Hukporti, registered on time, will presumably play his first game with Riesen this afternoon, since he arrived in Germany on Saturday, just one day before the league match against Alba.
On the Murcian side, if Sito considers it so, it could be the first Champions League game for Birgander, who played in Badalona, since his injury. To do this, he would first have to make a discard, which could be Diagne to maintain his back discomfort that prevented him from participating on Saturday, or another player, but his squad now has thirteen chips.
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