Unicaja downs Milan, nears final after a 79-83 thriller

U18 Unicaja Malaga remained undefeated at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDIAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Qualifying Tournament – Torneo Citta di Roma by surviving a fight against U18 Armani Junior Milan 79-83 to move one step closer to the final. Unicaja wasted a 16-point lead but prevailed in the final minute thanks to 22 points and 13 rebounds from 16-year-old Ablaye Sow. Ivan Raut added 16 points while Victor Aguilar had 14 points and Ignacio Trujillo ended with 10 points for Unicaja, which improved to 2-0 in Group B. The Spanish team will return to the Rome ANGT final – and a repeat of last season's final with Stellazzurra Basketball Academy Rome – if U18 Umana Reyer Venice beats U18 Mega Leks Belgrade in a later game Monday. Milan dropped to 1-1 despite 27 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists from Tommaso Baldasso while Nemaja Dincic collected 22 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

Aguilar started the scoring for Unicaja with a three-pointer while Davide Toffali hit Milan's first points. But they would be the Italian team's last for a while as it missed its next 7 shots and turned the ball over 4 times. Raut in the meantime scored 8 points and Sow added 4 in a 0-15 run to open a 2-17 lead. Michele Serpilli ended a 6:09-minute scoreless stretch with a three-pointer and Dincic followed with a free throw and basket to get the gap down to 8-17. Unicaja was up 10-19 after 10 minutes. Dincic and Sow swapped baskets to start the second quarter before Lazar Skoric, Franco Acosta, Ignacio Rosa and Trujillo all scored to push the lead to 13-29. Baldasso got Milan going again with a three-ball and another triple cut the deficit to 21-31. It was 21-34 after an Alejandro Romero basket and Acosta free throw, but Baldasso nailed another long ball and Simone Vecerina got the margin into single digits 26-34. Raut re-established a 10-point lead but Vecerina and Baldasso nailed back-to-back three-pointers before a Dincic put-back and two Baldasso free throws evened the game at 36-36. Sow followed with a three-point play but Baldasso hit his fifth three-pointer of the first half just before the buzzer as they teams were even 39-39 at intermission.

Sow opened the second half with a three-point play and Baldasso answered with Milan's first basket. Sow followed with a put-back and 2 free throws to put Unicaja up 41-46. Dincic put back an offensive rebound and converted the three-point play before Toffali evened the game again at 46-46. Unicaja raced away again with a 2-10 run, which included 3 points from Raut and a three-point play from Rosa to move ahead 48-56. After a Serpilli tip-in and Toffali score to cut the gap to 4 points, Raut was on target from long range to push the lead to 52-59. Matteo Lagana and Dincic both scored 2 points for Milan but Aguilar's three-pointer late in the third quarter had Unicaja up 56-64 after 30 minutes. Baldasso started the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and after an Acosta score for Unicaja Serpilli knocked down a three-ball of his own as the deficit was down to 62-66. Unicaja called for a time out after Dincic made it a two-point game. Unicaja failed to convert on offense and Baldasso knotted the game 66-66. Sow put the Spanish side back ahead but Milan claimed its first lead after a Baldasso free throw and Dincic basket to make it 69-68. Toffali split 2 free throws and Dincic added 2 from the line as Milan was up 72-68 with less than 6 minutes to play. Sow cut the lead to 2 points but Lagana answered with a long ball for a 75-70 advantage with 4:02 minutes left. Trujillo put back an offensive rebound and Skoric and Sow both made 2 free throws before Trujillo was again quicker on the offensive glass as Unicaja scored 8 straight points to go up 75-78 – forcing a Milan time out with 2 minutes to play. Milan finally scored after three straight unsuccessful possessions with 2 Dincic free throws. And the game was even at 79-79 after Rosa split 2 free throws and Baldasso made both of his foul shots with 37 seconds left. Aguilar was able to score with 23 seconds left for Unicaja and then Baldasso missed his shot. Milan sent Trujillo to the line with 9 seconds to play for 2 free throws, which he made to push the advantage to 79-83. And Unicaja secured the victory when Lagana missed a three-pointer.