Coviran Granada Claims Andalusian Derby to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive (83-71)

Coviran Granada secured its fourth victory of the season with a 83-71 win over Unicaja at the Palacio de los Deportes on Sunday, though it remains at the bottom of the Liga Endesa standings. Unicaja, which has lost five consecutive games in the domestic league, stays in the top eight.

The Málaga side's start was disastrous, particularly on offense, scoring just two points in nearly seven minutes (13-2 after a 9-0 run) and unable to prevent the home team from building a commanding lead by the end of the first quarter (24-9). The local squad dominated the boards and showed excellent focus throughout.

Unicaja plugged into the game in the second quarter with more aggressive defense and accuracy from three-point range on offense (29-20, 14:00 after a 0-9 run), but two consecutive technical fouls on the visitors and a stellar performance from Finnish forward Elias Valtonen allowed the home team to maintain a solid lead at halftime (41-31).

Coviran Granada came out strong after the break (49-31, 22:00 following an 8-0 run), and Unicaja mounted a comeback led by Tyson Pérez and American guard Kendrick Perry (57-51, 28:00), but the home team accelerated again (67-52, 29:00) to enter the final ten minutes with the game well in hand (67-53).

Ibon Navarro's squad struggled offensively against the home team's switching defenses and fell further behind (78-55, 35:00). Despite a late 0-10 run that came too late (78-67, 39:00), they could not mount a serious comeback.

83 - Coviran Granada (24+17+26+16): Costa (8), Kljajic (6), Valtonen (14), Bozic (15), Babatunde (2) -starting five-, Rousselle (8), Pérez (12), Howard (10), Alibegovic (-) and Brimah (8).

71 - Unicaja (9+22+22+18): Perry (12), Audige (2), Barreiro (-), Pérez (11), Balcerowski (2) -starting five-, Webb (11), Díaz (9), Cobbs (4), Sulejmanovic (6), Duarte (11), Rubit (-) and Tillie (3).

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