AEK Advances to Basketball Champions League Final, Defeats Unicaja 78-65

AEK Athens is the second finalist of the Basketball Champions League in Badalona. The Athens side defeated Unicaja 78-65, thanks to the significant lead built in the first half, when they held the Málaga team to just 21 points. A strong collective performance by Dragan Sakota's squad earned them a ticket to Saturday's championship game. We'll see who becomes champion of this edition: Rytas Vilnius or AEK Athens. Unicaja will not be able to defend what would have been their third consecutive BCL title. Their poor start to the game marked them for the rest of the contest.

The opening minutes of the second semifinal saw both teams feeling each other out. The game was so even that we reached the midpoint of the first quarter tied at seven. Dejan Kravish for Málaga and Keyshawn Feazell for the Greeks led their respective offenses with four points each.

Undoubtedly, this was a game that was cooking slowly. Inaccuracies and errors followed one after another. A three-pointer by Vasilis Charalampopoulos and two free throws by AEK gave them their largest lead (7-14 at the 9-minute mark). The offensive collapse by Ibon Navarro's team, who scored just four baskets in this opening period, was terrible. A final fast break by Killian Tillie made it 9-14, the score at the end of the first quarter.

AEK continued to shoot more accurately. Two three-pointers by Nunnally and Lekavicius extended the lead for the Athens squad (14-24 at the 13-minute mark). Ibon Navarro called a timeout. Things were not working well for the Málaga team. Their 2-for-14 shooting from three-point range was not good news for the Andalusian side.

The timeout had no effect. AEK, with more intensity and conviction, continued to increase their advantage. A three-pointer by Frank Bartley (5 points) set off all alarms for Unicaja. The Athens team had already doubled the score (16-33 at the 27-minute mark).

The Greek defense suffocated Unicaja's offense, which did not score any easy baskets in this first half. With a jump shot by James Nunnally (7 points), the teams went to halftime. The 21-37 score clearly showed what had happened in the first twenty minutes of the game. Unicaja had managed to score just nine baskets in this entire opening period. Either they changed dramatically or AEK would be in Saturday's championship game.

Unicaja came out of the locker room with a different face. With a 9-2 run, they got back into the game. The intensity of Sulejmanovic and a three-pointer by Jonathan Barreiro (5 points) brought the Málaga team closer (30-39 at the 22-minute mark).

The complexion of the game could change completely. Another three-pointer by Kalinoski and a basket by Perry, following good defense, left the game wide open. Unicaja began to believe (36-44 at the 25-minute mark).

But when AEK was struggling most, Frank Bartley (13 points) and James Nunnally (10 points) came to the rescue of Dragan Sakota's team. With back-to-back three-pointers, they deflated Unicaja's momentum and the Athens squad regained a clear lead. Unicaja's comeback had come to nothing. At the end of the third quarter, 43-56 for AEK.

Ibon Navarro's team came out determined to cut into the deficit, but the athleticism of the Athens squad was superior. Greg Brown III (6 points) soared above the rim and left the game practically decided (50-68 at the 34-minute mark).

A 7-0 run by Unicaja, capped off with a three-pointer by Kendrick Perry (12 points), added some drama to the finish (57-68 at the 36-minute mark). But that was the extent of Unicaja's resistance. The final exchange of baskets left the final score at 65-78 for the Greeks. Unicaja will not be able to defend what would have been their third consecutive BCL title. AEK will fight for the championship against Rytas Vilnius this coming Saturday at the Olímpic in Badalona.