Baloncesto Málaga

Basketball team in Málaga, Spain From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baloncesto Málaga S.A.D.,[2] also known as Unicaja for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Málaga, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Champions League.

LeaguesLiga ACB
Champions League
Founded1977; 49 years ago (1977)
HistoryCaja de Ronda
(1977–1992)
Unicaja Mayoral
(1992–1993)
Unicaja Polti
(1993–1994)
Unicaja
(1994–present)
ArenaMartín Carpena
Quick facts Unicaja, Leagues ...
Unicaja
Unicaja logo
LeaguesLiga ACB
Champions League
Founded1977; 49 years ago (1977)
HistoryCaja de Ronda
(1977–1992)
Unicaja Mayoral
(1992–1993)
Unicaja Polti
(1993–1994)
Unicaja
(1994–present)
ArenaMartín Carpena
Capacity10,699[1]
LocationMálaga, Spain
Team colorsForest green, white, purple and lime
       
PresidentAntonio López Nieto
Head coachIbon Navarro
Team captainAlberto Díaz
OwnershipUnicaja
Championships2 Intercontinental Cup
2 Champions League
1 EuroCup
1 Korać Cup
1 Spanish Championship
3 Spanish Cup
1 Spanish Supercup
Retired numbers1 (5)
Websiteunicajabaloncesto.com
Close
Unicaja Malaga 2024–25 Basketball Champions League championship ceremony

Founded in 1977, the team is sponsored by the Spanish bank Unicaja and has carried that sponsorship name since 1992. They play their home games at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena, shortly known as the "Martín Carpena". Unicaja has won one Liga ACB title, in 2006, as well as three Copas del Rey, one EuroCup, two Basketball Champions League, one FIBA Korać Cup and two FIBA Intercontinental Cup titles.

History

Unicaja was originally founded in 1977, as CB Caja de Ronda.[3][4] In 1992, the club merged another ACB team in the city of Málaga, CB Maristas de Málaga, which was originally founded in 1953 as Ademar Basket Club. Over the years, the club has featured players like: Nacho Rodríguez, Berni Rodríguez, Carlos Cabezas, Jorge Garbajosa, Marcus Brown, Sergei Babkov, Michael Ansley, Louis Bullock, and Kenny Miller, as well as numerous other well-known players. The club won its first title, when it won the European-wide third tier level FIBA Korać Cup in the 2000–01 season. They then won the Spanish King's Cup title in 2005. The next year, in the 2005–06 season, Unicaja won its first-ever Spanish League championship.

The club finished its best years to date, by qualifying for the 2007 Euroleague Final Four, where it was defeated in the semifinals by CSKA Moscow, and thus finished in third place in the EuroLeague. In October 2007, Unicaja faced the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies in a friendly match, and they defeated the Grizzlies, by a score of 102–99. That was one of the 17 times that an NBA team has lost to a foreign club. Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro, two of the greatest Spanish basketball players of all time, played for Memphis in that historical game.[5]

Málaga participated in the European-wide top-tier level league, the EuroLeague, for 15 consecutive seasons (2001–02 season to 2015–16 season). However, in the summer of 2015, it lost its EuroLeague A-licence. Therefore, in the 2016–17 season, Unicaja participated in the second tier level EuroCup. The club immediately won the EuroCup title, in its first season in the league, after winning over Valencia Basket in the league's Finals.[6]

From 2001–02 to 2020–21 seasons, the team competes in Euroleague Basketball competitions, until they switched to FIBA's Basketball Champions League since the 2021–22 season. In the 2023–24 season, Uncaja won the championship after defeating Canarias in the final, which took place in Belgrade.[7] As European champions, Unicaja then played in the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore, and won its first world-level title.

In the following 2024–25 season, Unicaja once again won the BCL championship, after defeating Galatasaray in the final of the Final Four in Athens.[8] They became the second team to win consecutive league titles, following San Pablo Burgos.[9]

Logos

  • Logo of the club since 2024.
    Logo of the club since 2024.
  • Former logo of the club.
    Former logo of the club.

Home arenas

ACB 2011–12 game between Unicaja and Real Madrid, at Martín Carpena.

Since 1999, Unicaja Málaga has played its home games at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena arena. The arena originally seated 9,743 spectators for basketball games, and was expanded in the year 2010, to a current seating capacity of 11,300 people for basketball games.[10]

Players

See also: Category:Baloncesto Málaga players

Retired numbers

More information Unicaja retired numbers, No ...
Unicaja retired numbers
No Nat. Player Position Tenure Ceremony date
5SpainBerni RodríguezSG1998–201226 June 2012[11]
21 May 2017[12][13]
Close

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

More information Unicaja roster, Players ...
Unicaja roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
PF 0 Dominican Republic Spain Pérez, Tyson 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 30 – (1996-01-29)29 January 1996
G 1 Jamaica Audige, Chase 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 26 – (1999-06-26)26 June 1999
C 2 Poland Balcerowski, Aleksander 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) 25 – (2000-11-19)19 November 2000
F 3 United States Webb III, James 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 32 – (1993-08-19)19 August 1993
SG 4 United States Kalinoski, Tyler 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 33 – (1992-12-19)19 December 1992
SF 7 Spain Barreiro, Jonathan 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 29 – (1997-01-16)16 January 1997
PG 9 Spain Díaz, Alberto (C) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 31 – (1994-04-23)23 April 1994
PG 11 United States Montenegro Cobbs, Justin 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 35 – (1991-03-16)16 March 1991
G/F 14 Bosnia and Herzegovina Germany Đedović, Nihad 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 36 – (1990-01-12)12 January 1990
PF 19 Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland Sulejmanović, Emir 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 30 – (1995-07-13)13 July 1995
F/C 21 United States Rubit, Augustine 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 36 – (1989-08-14)14 August 1989
SG 27 Dominican Republic Canada Duarte, Chris 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 28 – (1997-07-13)13 July 1997
F/C 33 France Tillie, Killian 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 28 – (1998-03-05)5 March 1998
C 45 United States Bulgaria Kravish, David 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 33 – (1992-09-12)12 September 1992
PG 55 United States Montenegro Perry, Kendrick 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 33 – (1992-12-23)23 December 1992
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Spain Alberto Miranda
  • Spain Ángel Sánchez Cañete
  • Spain Paco Aurioles
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Close

Depth chart

More information Pos., Starting 5 ...
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C David Kravish Aleksander Balcerowski † Augustine Rubit *
PF Tyson Pérez † Killian Tillie Emir Sulejmanović
SF James Webb III * Jonathan Barreiro † Nihad Đedović †
SG Chris Duarte Tyler Kalinoski Chase Audige
PG Kendrick Perry Alberto Díaz †
Close

Notes: Blue † – homegrown player;[a] Red * – overseas player;[b] Green ‡ – youth player[c]

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

More information Criteria ...
Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.
Close

Spain

Europe

USA

Rest of Americas

Africa

Head coaches

Season by season

Caja de Ronda

More information Season, Tier ...
Season Tier Division Pos. W–L Copa del Rey Other cups European competitions
1978–79 2 1ª División B 10th 6–16
1979–80 2 1ª División B 9th 13–17
1980–81 2 1ª División B 1st 19–2–5
1981–82 1 1ª División 10th 10–1–15 Round of 16
1982–83 1 1ª División 12th 6–20 Quarterfinalist
1983–84 1 Liga ACB 10th 14–16
1984–85 1 Liga ACB 14th 13–19
1985–86 2 1ª División B 4th 18–15
1986–87 2 1ª División B 1st 24–10
1987–88 1 Liga ACB 14th 3–30 Copa PríncipeR16
1988–89 1 Liga ACB 5th 23–15 Quarterfinalist
1989–90 1 Liga ACB 5th 21–17 Round of 16 3 Korać CupR11–1
1990–91 1 Liga ACB 10th 19–21 Third round 3 Korać CupR10–2
1991–92 1 Liga ACB 14th 16–23 Second round
Close

CB Maristas

More information Season, Tier ...
Season Tier Division Pos. W–L Copa del Rey
1981–82 3 2ª División 1st
1982–83 3 2ª División 2nd
1983–84 3 2ª División 2nd
1984–85 2 1ª División B 16th 6–20
1985–86 3 2ª División 2nd
1986–87 2 1ª División B 18th 12–22
1987–88 2 1ª División B 4th 32–13
1988–89 1 Liga ACB 15th 22–17 First round
1989–90 1 Liga ACB 13th 18–22 Round of 16
1990–91 1 Liga ACB 14th 18–22 Second round
1991–92 1 Liga ACB 15th 15–22 First round
Close

Unicaja

More information Season, Tier ...
Season Tier Division Pos. W–L Copa del Rey Other cups European competitions
1992–93 1 Liga ACB 6th 19–14 First round
1993–94 1 Liga ACB 12th 13–18 Quarterfinalist
1994–95 1 Liga ACB 2nd 32–16 First round
1995–96 1 Liga ACB 6th 27–14 Quarterfinalist 1 European LeagueGS8–8
1996–97 1 Liga ACB 7th 22–17 3 Korać CupQF9–3
1997–98 1 Liga ACB 8th 20–17 3 Korać CupR167–3
1998–99 1 Liga ACB 9th 18–16 Quarterfinalist 3 Korać CupGS2–4
1999–00 1 Liga ACB 8th 22–17 Quarterfinalist 3 Korać CupRU11–5
2000–01 1 Liga ACB 4th 30–11 Quarterfinalist 3 Korać CupC14–2
2001–02 1 Liga ACB 2nd 33–10 Semifinalist 1 EuroleagueRS6–8
2002–03 1 Liga ACB 3rd 29–15 Semifinalist 1 EuroleagueT168–12
2003–04 1 Liga ACB 4th 23–19 1 EuroleagueRS4–10
2004–05 1 Liga ACB 3rd 27–16 Champion Supercopa3rd 1 EuroleagueRS6–8
2005–06 1 Liga ACB 1st 35–10 Semifinalist Supercopa4th 1 EuroleagueT1615–5
2006–07 1 Liga ACB 8th 17–20 Quarterfinalist SupercopaRU 1 Euroleague3rd14–11
2007–08 1 Liga ACB 4th 19–19 Quarterfinalist 1 EuroleagueT1613–7
2008–09 1 Liga ACB 3rd 27–11 Runner-up 1 EuroleagueT1610–6
2009–10 1 Liga ACB 4th 21–18 1 EuroleagueT169–7
2010–11 1 Liga ACB 8th 19–17 1 EuroleagueT166–10
2011–12 1 Liga ACB 9th 17–17 Quarterfinalist 1 EuroleagueT164–12
2012–13 1 Liga ACB 9th 18–16 1 EuroleagueT1615–9
2013–14 1 Liga ACB 4th 26–15 Quarterfinalist 1 EuroleagueT1611–13
2014–15 1 Liga ACB 3rd 29–13 Semifinalist 1 EuroleagueT168–16
2015–16 1 Liga ACB 6th 20–16 SupercopaRU 1 EuroleagueT1611–13
2016–17 1 Liga ACB 4th 24–14 Quarterfinalist 2 EuroCupC13–9
2017–18 1 Liga ACB 7th 19–17 Quarterfinalist SupercopaSF 1 EuroLeague9th13–17
2018–19 1 Liga ACB 6th 22-15 Quarterfinalist 2 EuroCupQF12–7
2019–20 1 Liga ACB 10th 15–13 Runner-up 2 EuroCup—11–5
2020–21 1 Liga ACB 11th 17–19 Quarterfinalist 2 EuroCupT168–8
2021–22 1 Liga ACB 12th 13–21 3 Champions LeagueQF6–6
2022–23 1 Liga ACB 3rd 27–13 Champion 3 Champions League4th14–4
2023–24 1 Liga ACB 3rd 32–9 Quarterfinalist SupercopaRU 3 Champions LeagueC14–2
2024–25 1 Liga ACB 4th 26–14 Champion Intercontinental CupC 3 Champions LeagueC15–1
SupercopaC
2025–26 1 Liga ACB Quarterfinalist Intercontinental CupC 3 Champions League
SupercopaSF
Close

Honours and awards

Domestic competitions

Winners (1): 2005–06
Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 2001–02
Winners (3): 2005, 2023, 2025
Runners-up (2): 2009, 2020
Winners (1): 2024
Runners-up (3): 2006, 2015, 2023
  • Liga de Verano ACB [14]
Winners (4): 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002
Runners-up (1): 1999

European competitions

Third place (1): 2006–07
Winners (1): 2016–17
Winners (2): 2023–24, 2024–25
Winners (1): 2000–01
Runners-up (1): 1999–00

Worldwide competitions

Winners (2): 2024, 2025

Other competitions

  • 2nd division championships: (2)
    • 1ª División B: 1981, 1987
  • Andalusia Cup: (18)
    • 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025.
  • Torrox, Spain Invitational Game
    • 2008
  • Trofeo de Platja d'Aro
    • 2008
  • Trofeo Pollinica
    • 2008
  • Trofeo Ciudad de Cordoba, Spain
    • 2009

Individual awards

ACB Finals MVP

Spanish Cup MVP

ACB Slam Dunk Champion

ACB Three Point Shootout Champion

  • Paco Vázquez – 2001

All-EuroLeague Second Team

All-ACB First Team

All-ACB Second Team

EuroCup Finals MVP

Basketball Champions League Final Four MVP

Reserve team

Baloncesto Málaga B is the reserve team of Unicaja basketball based in Málaga, and play in the Tercera FEB.

From 2007 to 2016, Baloncesto Málaga had an agreement with CB Axarquía, for them to play as the club's main farm team, while Baloncesto Málaga B, which currently plays also under the name Unicaja, was the club's third team until the end of this contract.

Women's team

On 14 July 2017, the club announced the creation of a women's team.[15]

Just in its second season, Unicaja promoted to Liga Femenina 2.[16]

Season by season

More information Season, Tier ...
Season Tier Division Pos.
2017–18 3 1ª División 2nd
2018–19 3 1ª División 1st
Close

Notes

  1. [a]
    A homegrown player is a player that played for at least three years before the age of 20 on a Spanish team. In Liga ACB, the team must register at least four homegrown players in rosters of 10–12 players or at least three homegrown players in rosters of 8–9 players. In Champions League, the team must register at least five homegrown players in rosters of 11–12 players or at least four homegrown players in rosters of 10 players.
  2. [b]
    An overseas player is a player from outside EEA, FIBA Europe or ACP states. In Liga ACB, the team may register at most two overseas players. In Champions League, the team did not have any limitations regarding the number of overseas players.
  3. [c]
    In Liga ACB, the team may register under-22 players linked to the youth system.

References

External links

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI