Second Consecutive Match Against Amara Lleida

The eighth round of the Liga U brings with it an unusual situation. While Amara Lleida hosted Unicaja Alhaurín de la Torre last week, this time the Málaga team will play as the home team at the Blas Infante. The game will take place this Friday at 8:00 p.m., and admission will be free until capacity is reached. It can also be streamed on DAZN and the Liga U YouTube channel.

 

Mikel Ereño’s team heads into the game aiming to build on the positive momentum shown in Lleida. The 67–78 victory allowed the Cajistas to regain confidence and stay in the hunt to close in on the positions that qualify for Group A.

 

Amara Lleida arrives in Málaga hoping to bounce back from the loss it suffered just a week ago. One of the key factors in that game was the green-and-purple team’s ability to minimize Pau Torrens’ impact. The Balearic point guard finished the game with 12 points and 5 assists—numbers far below the 24.3 points and 6 assists he had been averaging up to that point. He also shot 22.2% from the field, his lowest percentage to date in Liga U.

 

The team coached by Borja Comenge will once again pin much of its hopes on Torrens’ performance, although the standout player in the last matchup was Babacar Sow. The big man put together his best performance of the season, tallying 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 blocks to reach an efficiency rating of 18.

 

It is noteworthy that the Lleida-based team has yet to win a game this season with Torrens on the court. The Catalans’ only victory came against Obradoiro U22, a game the guard missed because he was called up to play for Ilerna Lleida in the Endesa League. This is a situation similar to that experienced by Alexis Pou, another of the team’s key offensive players.

 

Thanks to its victory at Barris Nord, Unicaja Alhaurín de la Torre is now just two wins away from the spots that qualify for Group A. Therefore, starting the second half of this first phase with another win could prove decisive in keeping its promotion hopes alive in the final weeks of the year.

 

Last game’s success was the result of the team’s collective effort. One of the standout players of the match was Dani Villalba. The first-year junior player demonstrated his progress with several quality plays on both ends of the court and posted a performance rating of 10—his best mark so far in the competition.

 

On offense, Leandro Monteiro and Nikola Tomic once again stood out. The Cape Verdean shooting guard took charge of the scoring in the final minutes of the first half, while the German small forward stepped up at the most critical moment of the game. Tomic scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and was instrumental in securing the road victory.

 

However, the most well-rounded player of the game was Dani Sierra. The homegrown player delivered a very solid performance with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 fouls drawn—statistics that allowed him to finish as the game’s most valuable player with 17 efficiency points.

 

Now, the two teams will face off again at Blas Infante, with a new chapter yet to be written. Unicaja Alhaurín de la Torre will look to capitalize on home-court advantage and build on the strong performance they showed in Lleida, while Amara Lleida will try to get revenge and return home with a victory.