Unicaja Baloncesto defeated Angolan team Petro de Luanda, champion of Africa, on Thursday in their debut at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup being played in Singapore. The team from Malaga won 78-94 in a game that they dominated from start to finish and in which they managed to make six consecutive three-pointers. Dylan Osetkowski was the highest-rated player of the game with a total of 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
A perfectly oiled machine. That’s how Unicaja began its debut in the first Intercontinental Cup in its history. The first quarter was a demonstration of superiority at all levels, success in attack, concentration in defense, intensity and good play. The score increased to 6-25 in the first ten minutes. Afterwards, the Angolan team improved in attack, but the second quarter continued to be a siege by the Spaniards, who scored ten of 16 possible three-pointers and the game went into the break with a score of 31-55 on the scoreboard.
The third quarter was a little more closely contested and Petro de Luanda reduced the gap to end the third quarter with the score at 52-75. The match ended 78-94 and on Friday Unicaja will face Al Riyadi, the Asian champion, in its second match at 2:00 p.m. peninsular time. If Unicaja manages to win and become champion of Group A, the Malaga team will qualify for the final on Sunday, September 15 at 1:00 p.m. against the winner of Group B — which will see Quimsa from Argentina, Tasmania Jackjumpers from Australia and NBA F League United face each other.
The entire competition is played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which has a capacity of 12,000 spectators. The FIBA Intercontinental Cup was created in 1965 and Real Madrid has been the most successful team in the competition, winning it five times (the last in 2015), although it has not been the only Spanish team to do so. Tenerife has won the tournament three times, while Barça and San Pablo Burgos have won it just once. If Unicaja wins on Sunday, it would be the seventh title in the history of the Malaga club and the fifth ACB team to win an Intercontinental Cup.
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