UCAM plays a big part of its future ranking opportunities on this second day of the ‘top 16’ of the Champions League
Only one more day of the ‘top 16’ goes before this second of group L of the Champions League is played. But in a competition of only six games, every game can be the key to the ambitions. It could be today’s confrontation in the palace between UCAM and Bilbao, and it is. In a competition dominated by Spanish teams, a superiority confirmed with the transition of the five participants to this new phase, half of the participants already eliminated, there are three Endesa League teams that are part of the Murcian group.
For the next advance, Tenerife are an all-group favourite, current champions of a match they have already won at the premiere, taking a serious corrective blow on the first day of the ‘top 16’, played last week inflicted to UCAM (85-65). Bilbao, the other Spaniard and today’s rival, dealt with the Turk Darüssafaka (85-75), the only foreigner and in theory the weakest rival, so that Jaume Ponsarnau’s team finished second in the group early on.
That second position, the last to give access to the quarter-finals, is the one that Murcia and Bilbao should be aiming for to come through their European careers this season with flying colours, before the remarkable thing that a presence in the ‘Final Four’ would be. mean’. As in the Endesa League playoffs, the tie between wins and losses is broken by the “basket average” of head-to-head clashes between the tied teams. So today in Murcia it’s not just about winning or losing, it’s also about keeping the accelerator pressed, whether you reach the end with a favorable or unfavorable score, in case both Spanish teams disagree in the end. Without, of course, losing sight of a Darüssafaka who carries out reinforcements and has nothing to exclude yet.
It happened to UCAM that, for sure, the game against Tenerife in the Endesa League with such a favorable result for the men of Sito (85-64) and in a game where sparks flew, would provoke a certain revenge from the men of Txus Vidorreta , who stitched a great basketball against a subdued UCAM (85-65).
Again, and although they are in different leagues, UCAM in Europe is measured against a team it recently faced in the Endesa League. Now he is the one who must strive to remove that thorn in the Champions League. It happened just two days after beating Tenerife, when Sito’s men were beaten in Bilbao (99-81) in a match that saw his men lack much activity and ultimately left them with no real Copa del Rey options.
That day, Ludde Hakanson, who is at the edge of his career best this season, went to 25 points and a PIR of 32 in 30 minutes. in line. Helped numerous times this season by the ballman’s poor defense in direct blocks.
The little ones of UCAM, especially Trice, may have taken note of the defense that Joventut performed on the Swedish point guard, which they choked, leaving him with only 2 points and, through him, dismantled all of Bilbao, in the worst game of the season for those from Ponsarnau (51-70). Both Hakanson’s and the team got their lowest scores from the course.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
