Health issues continue and the Army Men coaching staff has not much choice in the rotation. Victor Khryapa and Manu Markoishvili are still busy with rehabilitation process; Alexei Zozulin joined them with right knee problems. Now the junior team is represented during the practices by two forwards – Anton Astapkovich and Mikhail Maleiko.
“We expect a tough game against the team which did not lose any single game this season, winning 3 in Euroleague and 5 in Spain,” CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “We scouted all 8 games of Unicaja and I can say that they play high-quality basketball with good balance between the inside game and activity of the guards on the perimeter. They play a lot of screens for Vasiliadis and Toolson; they use pick-n-rolls with Markovic and Granger. Unicaja looks for Golubovic to play in the post and they have very good power forwards able to both shoot the ball and play with the back to the basket. Besides the team from Malaga can play small with three guards and two forwards, they can press the ball full court and be very aggressive. Unicaja averages about 80 points per game so our first task is to make stops. As usually we expect our fans to help us at home, they are really helpful and I think the team deserves their support.”
It should be noted that Unicaja comes to Moscow shorthanded as well. Stevan Markovic (bruised toe) and Jon Stefanson (torn hip muscle) stayed in Malaga. Carlos Suarez came with the team but he is questionable for the game after getting back to practices just this Tuesday.
“Relativity” connections
Dimitris Itoudis coached Unicaja guard Stefan Markovic last season in Turkey at Banvit Bandirma.
Sonny Weems was a teammate of Unicaja forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas during the 2011-12 season at Zalgiris Kaunas. That team won the Lithuania League and Cup double plus the Baltic League title.
Kostas Vasileiadis was a teammate of CSKA Moscow guard Aaron Jackson for two seasons between 2010 and 2012 at Bizkaia Basket Bilbao in Spain. They led the club to its first-ever Euroleague appearance and then to the Euroleague playoffs in the second of those seasons.
Stefan Markovic was a teammate of CSKA guard Nando De Colo during the 2011-12 season at Valencia Basket. The backcourt duo helped Valencia reach the Eurocup championship game that season.
Markovic teamed up with Milos Teodosic in Olympiacos Pireaus during 2007-08 season.
Important numbers
Vitaly Fridzon has made at least 1 three-pointer in 25 straight Euroleague games. He is shooting 47 for 94 (50%) from downtown over that stretch.
Teodosic is tied for the league lead in three-pointers made with 10. A.J. Slaughter of Panathinaikos and Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos have also made 10 threes.
Andrey Vorontsevich is tied for the league lead with 5 blocks through three games.
Kyle Hines is the league co-leader in offensive rebounds with 11 through three games. He shares the top sport with Samardo Samuels of EA7 Milan.
Aaron Jackson has made 11 consecutive free throws in Euroleague games.
United Nations of Basketball
Javier Gancedo, euroleague.net for cskabasket.com
Unicaja Malaga is arguably in its best moment in recent years after a great start of the season in both the Spanish League and the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Unicaja kept its core of players from last season and looked for others to complement the roster.
Stefan Markovic is a pass-first playmaker, very different from Jayson Granger. Will Thomas and Caleb Green also make their Euroleague debut at power forward. Old-school center and All-Eurocup first team selection Vladimir Golubovic is very different from Fran Vazquez while sharp shooter Kostas Vasileadis does what he does best – finish close games.
The main reason for that success is that everyone, from its management to its players, bought into coach Joan Plaza’s philosophy. Plaza has a reputation to be a hard worker and demands the same from his players. Unicaja is a defensive-minded team which runs the floor as often as possible, turning defense into offense. Some of his defensive rules – try not to allow more than 17 points in each quarter, use mobile big men to continue in pick-and-roll situations, put a lot of pressure on the ball – have been the same in Real Madrid, Cajasol and Zalgiris Kaunas. Plaza is also well-known for developing his players individually and involving his assistant coaches – particularly Antonio Herrera and before him, Diego Ocampo – in his everyday job.
It is not easy to put together a team with players from so many different countries. Players from Serbia, Greece, USA, Senegal, Uruguay, Lithuania, Iceland and of course, Spain – not to mention Thomas, American with a Georgian passport. Add that some of its junior players were born in the United Kingdom, Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo… and Unicaja is almost like the United Nations of Basketball. Its roster has Plaza’s signature, too, as only one player – Vazquez – remains in the team since he arrived in Malaga. Unicaja last played in Moscow in January 2013 and now returns with 11 different players and a different coach!
Unicaja has great tradition in the Euroleague, reaching the Top 16 in each of the last nine seasons – only FC Barcelona, Panathinaikos Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv have been able to match this achievement. Unicaja, however, has only reached the Final Four once, back in 2007, losing 62-50 against CSKA. The team has not advanced to the playoffs since that season, being really competitive in regular season action (47-27 record) but struggling in the Top 16 (21-37).
CSKA and Unicaja had a great start of the season, with adds more anticipation to this showdown. CSKA fans can expect an opponent with a great team spirit, willing to fight for every possession, the kind of team nobody wants to face. Other than the obvious home court advantage, CSKA needs to be really efficient under the baskets and take into account that both Milos Teodosic and Aaron Jackson will be facing all sorts of defensive traps. Coach Plaza is in search of what he calls “total basketball” and CSKA must be ready for a tough battle.
Past matchups
Wins/losses: 15-4
1995/96 – European Championship for Clubs. Semifinal Round. Unicaja – CSKA: 81-70 (-11)
1995/96 – European Championship for Clubs. Semifinal Round. CSKA – Unicaja: 81-67 (+14)
2002/03 – Euroleague Top 16. Unicaja – CSKA: 76-95 (+19)
2002/03 – Euroleague Top 16. CSKA – Unicaja: 89-70 (+19)
2003/04 – Euroleague Regular Championship. Unicaja – CSKA: 62-65 (+3)
2003/04 – Euroleague Regular Championship. CSKA – Unicaja: 91-84 (+7)
2004/05 – Euroleague Regular Championship. Unicaja – CSKA: 62-73 (+11)
2004/05 – Euroleague Regular Championship. CSKA – Unicaja: 76-70 (+6)
2005/06 – Euroleague Regular Championship. CSKA – Unicaja: 87-63 (+24)
2005/06 – Euroleague Regular Championship. Unicaja – CSKA: 77-72 (-5)
2006/07 – Euroleague. Semifinal. CSKA – Unicaja: 62-50 (+12)
2007/08 – Euroleague Top 16. Unicaja – CSKA: 72-67 (-5)
2007/08 – Euroleague Top 16. CSKA – Unicaja: 93-70 (+23)
2009/10 – Euroleague Top 16. CSKA – Unicaja: 86-78 (+8)
2009/10 – Euroleague Top 16. Unicaja – CSKA: 70-76 (+6)
2011/12 – Euroleague Regular Championship. CSKA – Unicaja: 77-66 (+11)
2011/12 – Euroleague Regular Championship. Unicaja – CSKA: 83-91 (+8)
2012/13 – Euroleague Top 16. CSKA – Unicaja: 81-94 (-13)
2012/13 – Euroleague Top 16. Unicaja – CSKA: 66-70 (+4)
Short dossier
Unicaja Malaga, Spain
Founded: 1977
Colors: white, green, lime
Home court: Palacio De Deportes Jose Martin Carpena (10.233 çðèòåëÿ)
President: Eduardo Garcia Lopez
Head coach: Joan Plaza
Website: www.unicajabaloncesto.com
Accomplishments: Spanish champion (2006), Spanish Cup winner (2005), Korac Cup winner (2001).
