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Unicaja undefeated, but well-aware of German quality

Alba's coach Obradovic says his team didn't play tough enough defense in their Euroleague opener, being too respectful of Moscow. He expects a different kind of approach today

acbmedia.net

Unicaja have done four official matches to record four wins, none of them by less than 9 points. We need to be realistic and admit Unicaja's draw was quite favorable so far, matching them up with poorly performing Andorra, Manrese and Kutxa in ACB league, and one of the weakest Euroleague opponents Cedevita. 

Joan Plaza's team have done their job and that is all that matters. The most important thing in sports is to live up to one's expectations. Unicaja were expected to deliver in those games and they have, but the challenged they're faced with today might be a bit tougher with Alba Berlin being a level above all their previous opponents.

- We can win this, especially home and especially with our fans' support. But, Alba are a tough challenge - Ryan Toolson, who weren't as efficient last weekend in the Manresa game as he was in Zagreb against Cedevita, said.

MBC

Despite shooting 2 for 8 on Sunday, his stats in the first four games are amazing for a shooting guard - his three point shooting percentage is 56%, two-point 65%, and he never missed a single free throw in those four games. As good as Toolson is, he's not the top player at Unicaja. His teammate Fran Vazquez is probably the best center in Europe at the moment, having recorded 18 points and 8 rebounds in only 18 minutes against Manresa. Granted, the opponent is not a top-level team, but Vazquez is currently one of Unicaja's driving forces. He picked up exactly where he left off last season in the ACB league semi final series with Real.

- We're a good team with good players both in defense and offense. Fran has been our rock this season, he's doing brilliantly. He was the MVP in ACB league last round. Granger did that game well too, we weren't really efficient but we acted together as a team - Toolson said. A lot of responsibility is on Granger since Calloway left. He scored 13 points, greatly improving his performance compared to the Cedevita game (1/7).

- Winning home games is extremely important in Euroleague, just like winning ACB league home games. Alba are the leading team in the German league, currently on a 5-0 record. Also, they beat the Spurs. It will be tough today - we need to do our best - coach Plaza said. Caleb Green is still not doing as expected, but Plaza believes that to be down to 'the new game system and adjustment'.

- We are undefeated, but there is still so much room for us to improve.

Carlos Suarez didn't play a single game so far, and might not be on the team today either.

Alba had a very bad start to Euroleague (CSKA Moscow) that could not have been made up for with a convincing win in Bundesliga two days later. The team from Berlin are on a 5-0 record in Bundesliga, mostly beating the opponents easily. The last round meeting with Crailsheim was no different as Alba took an early lead, limiting the opponent to only 8 points in the first quarter. They were 18 points up by half time, leaving the opponent with no chance.

Center Leon Radosevic has had more attempts than any other player on his team, having scored 12 points in 10 shots. Marko Banic spent only 16 minutes in the game but proved to be very efficient once again (5/6). Alex King added 20 points (7/8) and since Stojanovski got injured, Obradovic didn't have to choose which foreigner to keep off the list.

Alba should forget about the Crailsheim game as soon as possible and focus on a better Euroleague performances. If they do as they did in the opener, they won't stand a chance in Malaga.

- CSKA, Maccabi and Unicaja are the leading teams in out group. If you don't do your very best, you won't stand a chance against either one of them. And we failed to do our best against CSKA. We need to play a confident defense in Malaga - Obradovic said and Giffey added:

- We want to play aggressive team defense, that's out style and it will help.

Reggie Redding is one of the players Obradovic has high hopes for, but he has not been at his last season's level. That is not very obvious in Bundesliga but when it comes to Euroleauge, he need to be the driving force, especially when Alba meet the top teams. He was not doing his best against CSKA, despite being Alba's top scorer with 11 points.

- We want to start aggressive today. We didn't play a tough enough defense against CSKA, we were too respectful of them...We need to pay Toolson special attention, he's one of the best shooting guards in Europe, but Stefansson deserves our attention as well - Obradovic said.