Unicaja Mijas faces off against the league leader

The Andalusian capital is set to host Unicaja Mijas this Saturday, October 30, for the fifth round of the LF Challenge. The Málaga team will face Sevilla Cajasol Gardenstore Baloncesto at 7:00 p.m. This will be the second time the two teams have faced off in just one month, following the Andalusian Cup semifinal held in Estepona. On that occasion, the team from Híspalis came out on top; now, the team from Los Guindos will look to even the series. The Andalusian showdown will coincide with the launch of the paid subscription model for BalONcesto TV, the FEB’s new streaming platform.

 

After the painful loss at Martín Urbano, Unicaja Mijas has a chance to redeem itself and demonstrate the ambition of the project. Javi Pérez de los Reyes’s team will face the leader of the Liga Femenina Challenge, Sevilla Cajasol Gardenstore Baloncesto. The Seville squad remains undefeated, and its four wins place it at the top of the standings alongside Osés Construcción. For their part, the Málaga team remains in playoff contention, ranked seventh and just two wins behind the leader.

 

Jaime Sañudo is seeing how the new signings are performing at the highest level from the very first minute. The five highest-rated players are point guards Anna Prim and Alba Orois, small forward Linda Van Schaik, and big women Teya Sidberri and Marita Davydova. This starting five accounts for more than 80% of the team’s cumulative rating in these first four games.

 

A Powerful Quintet

All five lead the team in some aspect, but one stands out above the rest: Teya Sidberri. The American ranks sixth in the league in efficiency with an average of 19.75 credits, thanks to her 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Her best game came on the third matchday in the road victory against SPAR Gran Canaria, where she scored 22 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and posted a rating of 31. Although in the last game against Melilla Ciudad del Deporte La Salle, she recorded a strong double-double, 17-11.

 

Orois won’t be the only one facing former teammates this Saturday. Sidberri will come up against Savannah Samuel. The two Americans were teammates during the 2024–25 season. Both played for the Boston College Eagles, and both played key roles on the team coached by Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. Samuel, coming off the bench, played the most minutes and ranked third in three-point scoring. Meanwhile, the star player for Unicaja Mijas’ opponent led the team in rebounding.

 

The point guard duo of Alba Orois and Anna Prim is meshing perfectly with Sañudo’s system. The former Unicaja Mijas player has been key to the victories in León and the Canary Islands. On the road, she averages 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and an efficiency rating of 18. Meanwhile, Prim is coming off her best game yet, with 18 points and 8 assists against the team from Melilla.

 

 

The team’s inside presence doesn’t rest solely on the American player; Marita Davydova has returned to her best form. The Russian center has boosted her averages to 11 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 13.3 efficiency points. Finally, we must mention Linda Van Schaik. The Dutch player is contributing across the board, with 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. In addition, the small forward has the best plus-minus rating on the entire team, with a cumulative +77 when she’s on the court.

 

Sevilla Cajasol Gardenstore Women’s Basketball is dominating its games. This is reflected in their victories in León, where they held on in the fourth quarter to win 73–84; in Gran Canaria, 54–67; in San Pablo against Fustecma NBF Castelló, whom they defeated 73–57; and in their most recent game against Melilla Ciudad del Deporte, whom they shut down in the final ten minutes to win 73–53.

 

Collectively, the team from the Andalusian capital is demonstrating the defensive intensity they are capable of bringing to the court. They are the third-lowest-scored-against team, allowing an average of fewer than 60 points. Another area where they excel is on offense, with a 38.7% three-point shooting percentage—the best in the entire league—which is particularly impressive given the high volume of three-point attempts they take per game.

 

A Positive Head-to-Head Record

Unicaja Mijas dominates Sevilla Cajasol Gardenstore Women’s Basketball in their head-to-head history. The team from Málaga has won three times and lost only one official game. The Andalusian teams faced off last season in the LF Challenge, with Los Guindos sweeping the series, and in the LF 2 during the 2022-23 season.

 

Despite the strong record of Javi Pérez de los Reyes’s team, the last time they met, it was the team from the capital that emerged victorious. That game took place in the semifinals of the Andalusian Cup held last September in Estepona. The green-and-purple-clad team struggled in the second quarter but managed to bounce back. They even rallied from a deficit of nearly twenty points, though they were unable to complete the comeback. The final score was a close 73–76 loss.

 

Débora Reis: “The game in Seville will be a tough one”

Unicaja Mijas center Débora Reis warns that the matchup against the LF Challenge leaders will be “tough; we know that in this league, every game is going to be competitive and difficult.” The Brazilian notes that they’ve been working on “rebounding and defense since the game against Mipelletymas León.”

 

Reis is leading the team at the start of the season and makes it clear what goal she and her teammates have set for themselves: “We all share the same ambition to win; we share that mindset. Especially after what the team went through last year, when we came within one game of moving up a division. I want to win and hopefully be in contention to move up a division,” reveals the Rio native.

 

It’s clear that the center has adapted to Málaga quite quickly, as she herself explains: “I’m very happy here; everyone is friendly, and so far it’s been a lot of fun. Sometimes I struggle a bit with Spanish, but it’s been a great experience,” she concludes.