MÁLAGA. Unicaja came alive in the fourth quarter and overcame a 10-point deficit against a solid MoraBanc Andorra (91-79), with 17 points from recent signing Justin Cobbs and 18 from Dominican Chris Duarte, allowing them to solidify their position in the upper tier of the Liga Endesa with thirteen wins, their last five consecutive.
Croatian Žan Tabak, in his first outing as head coach of MoraBanc Andorra, visited the court where he retired as a professional player in 2005, having been part of the first Copa del Rey that Unicaja won in its history, with Sergio Scariolo on the bench.
He had made his debut with a victory in the previous matchday against Dreamland Gran Canaria, and had Ibon Navarro's team against the ropes for many minutes, but in an outstanding fourth quarter from Unicaja, the victory stayed at the Martín Carpena.
The Andorran squad was slightly superior in the opening moments, but Unicaja heated up after a timeout and with the introduction of a lineup featuring Justin Cobbs at point guard and Chris Duarte drawing defensive attention, with James Webb III and Augustine Rubit controlling the boards.
The context evened out, but Unicaja found Cobbs' second basket in a one-on-one possession, the American with a Montenegrin passport who arrived to replace the month-long absence of Alberto Díaz, and who is gradually gaining more confidence in his shot.
The insistent defense of MoraBanc Andorra, their accuracy from the free throw line, Aaron Best's ten points in ten minutes, Unicaja's impatient errors, and a corner three-pointer from Shannon Evans resulted in the first major separation by the Principality squad (29-38, minute 16).
And it happened again: after the timeout, the Málaga side woke up and recovered lost ground at the pace of their most agitating player, Kendrick Perry (36-38), although MoraBanc Andorra managed to go into halftime winning by three points.
The Andorran team handled the return to the court better, and quickly moved to 43-51 after another three-pointer from Evans, an outside accuracy that contrasted with the erratic Unicaja, at that point in the third quarter with a poor 17.6% shooting from beyond the arc (3/17).
The visitors held the reins, with their opponent uncomfortable (43-53), driving them to rush with great defense and bold offense. Unicaja wasn't firing on all cylinders, relying on Cobbs in a very flat offensive plan.
With more talent than order, Unicaja found its most visceral version, finally accompanied by three-pointers from Cobbs and Duarte, to set up a fourth quarter of details and tension (60-63) where, this time, Unicaja's desire to win prevailed.
The centers of each team, Artem Pustovyi for MoraBanc Andorra and Olek Balcerowski for Unicaja, accumulated fouls and their coaches saved them for the final possessions, although the Andorran center wouldn't finish the game.
The Málaga side took the lead at 6:57 remaining, for the first time since the end of the first quarter, and in a burst they changed the game's momentum (72-65), and Unicaja imposed themselves with a great team performance, leaving the fourth quarter score at 31-16, a summary of their great comeback.
91 - Unicaja (23+16+21+31): Perry (14), Kalinoski (9), Barreiro (0), Tyson Pérez (2), Balcerowski (2) -starting lineup- Cobbs (17), Duarte (18), Webb III (1), Sulejmanovic (5), Audige (3), Rubit (12).
79 - MoraBanc Andorra (22+20+21+16): Evans (12), Okoye (9), Ortega (7), Pons (6), Pustovyi (10) -starting lineup- Udeze (4), Best (17), Luz (6), McKoy (8), Guerrero (0).
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