An offensive Río Breogán puts Unicaja to the test in Lugo

The final stop on the road trip. Unicaja will play its third consecutive game away from Martín Carpena this Sunday, October 25, facing Río Breogán (6:00 p.m., broadcasted live by DAZN, Movistar Plus+, and Unicaja Baloncesto Radio from El Quinto Quarto). It won’t be an easy road trip, as the team from Málaga will face one of the teams that has had the best start to the Liga Endesa season so far. Meanwhile, Unicaja will look to secure its fifth consecutive victory of the season after defeating Juventus Utena, MoraBanc Andorra, Kids&Us Manresa, and BK KVIS Pardubice.

 

The team from Lugo sits third in the league standings, with three wins and just one loss—which came in the very last game against MoraBanc Andorra (108-102). Previously, Asisa Joventut (110-104), Kids&Us Manresa (95-101), and FIATC Girona (115-92) all fell to the Galician team, which is tied for second place with Kosner Baskonia and sits just one win behind the leader, the undefeated Real Madrid.

 

Unleashed on offense
If there’s one thing that has defined Río Breogán’s start to the Endesa League season, it’s their impressive scoring ability. As we’ve seen, in their four games played, they’ve surpassed the 100-point mark, averaging 107 points per game—second only to Real Madrid (110.5). However, the team from Lugo is the only one to have scored over 100 points in every game, as Real Madrid, in their season opener, edged out Unicaja 89–87. At the Pazo dos Deportes, Río Breogán scored 110 and 115 points; therefore, curbing their offensive firepower will be one of the keys to this matchup.

 

These numbers are backed up by the statistics, as they lead the league in steals (9.25, tied with FIATC Girona); rank second in efficiency rating (120.75), assists (23), and two-point field goals (24.75, with the fourth-best field goal percentage—60.74%); third in three-pointers (12.75, with the fourth-best percentage—40.48%—) and fouls drawn (24.5); and fourth in free throws (19.25).

 

Francis Alonso, the main threat
Río Breogán’s main threat is an old friend whom Unicaja knows well: Francis Alonso. The Málaga-born shooting guard, who came up through the Los Guindos system, has been one of the standout players in the competition so far this season. The La Malagueta native is averaging 19.5 points (second in the Endesa League and the league’s top Spanish scorer) thanks to his three 3-pointers (second) and 5.5 free throws per game (fourth with a 100% success rate, league leader); to which he adds 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals for a player rating of 23 (third). His outstanding form even earned him the Player of the Week award for Week 3, during which he recorded 27 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds for a total player rating of 30 against FIATC Girona. He is undoubtedly one of the key players behind Lugo’s strong start.

 

Alongside him, another standout name is Croatian point guard Dominik Mavra, who is averaging 17.67 points (fourth in the league) with three three-pointers (tied with Francis Alonso himself for second place, and with the second-best three-point shooting percentage —69.23%—), 5.33 assists (fifth), and a player rating of 19.7 (sixth). He is joined in the backcourt by Rasir Bolton (15 points, with 5 free throws per game—fifth in the Liga Endesa—and 5.2 assists).

 

On the perimeter, small forward Tevin Brown is off to a strong start to the season, averaging 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists for a rating of 17. Meanwhile, in the paint, the Balkan trio of Danko Brankovic (9.5 points, 6 rebounds, 1.75 blocks—second in the league—for a 15 efficiency rating), Mihailo Andric (8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds), and Aleksa Ilic (7.5 points, 3 rebounds) brings solidity to Lugo’s interior game, bolstered further by the Dominican player Andersson García (6 points, 4.8 rebounds).

 

Crossed paths
The game will feature a series of reunions on both sides, with several notable names. In addition to the aforementioned Francis Alonso—a former Los Guindos youth product who played for the first team between 2020 and 2022—there is another standout name: Luis Casimiro. The coach from La Mancha led Unicaja in 144 games—the sixth-highest total in the club’s history—with a record of 82 wins and 62 losses across two separate stints (2012 and from 2018 to January 2021). In addition, there is a third player on the Galician roster with a history at Unicaja—albeit a brief one—namely Edgar Vicedo, who played three games at the start of the 2021–22 season.

 

On the other hand, Unicaja has a player who left a very positive impression in Lugo: Tyler Kalinoski, who was part of the team during the 2021–22 season, when he had a great year that led him to Málaga the following season.

 

Txus Vidorreta, a Legend
This Sunday’s game will be special for Unicaja coach Txus Vidorreta, as he will become the fourth coach with the most games coached in the history of the Liga Endesa, with 746, allowing him to surpass Manel Comas, with whom he is currently tied. The irony is that the Bilbao native will face the coach who ranks just ahead of him on the all-time list: Luis Casimiro, who is third with 820 games coached. Other former Unicaja coaches—such as Aíto García Reneses (1,111 games) and Pedro Martínez (1,107)—round out a historic list on which the head coach of the Málaga team continues to climb the ranks.

 

A tough away game
The Pazo dos Deportes has always been a difficult arena for Unicaja. Since the 2018–19 season—with the exception of the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, during which Río Breogán was in LEB Oro—there have been six visits to the Galician city, four of which ended in defeat for the Malaga team, including the last two (81–79 in 2025 and 98–82 in 2026). Overall, the record in Lugo is positive for Unicaja, which has won 11 times and lost eight, a testament to Lugo’s strength as the home team.

 

More broadly speaking, the two teams have faced off 37 times in the Liga Endesa regular season, with Unicaja posting 26 wins and 11 losses; their most recent matchup was a 101-83 victory for Unicaja last season at the Carpena. Now, they’ll need to stay on their toes at one of the most intense arenas in the competition.

 

Unicaja will face Río Breogán this Sunday, October 25, at the Pazo dos Deportes in Lugo. The game, which tips off at 6:00 p.m., will be broadcast live on DAZN, Movistar Plus+, and Unicaja Baloncesto Radio from El Quinto Quarto.