Unicaja fans are starting to see victory as something close, after years of a tough journey through the desert. At the feet of the Virgin of Victory, the team once again took a massive bath this Thursday afternoon. The city is experiencing a golden age for its basketball team. He knows it. “We have to take advantage of this it doesn’t last forever. We will return to the bad years,” says Diego Salazar, who was associated with Ciudad Jardín in the 1980s, when the team was still called Caja de Ronda.
With José Antonio de la Vega, he sang enthusiastically for years dressed in green. “We saw winning, going down, going up and now we have to take advantage of it. This year, I just ask that we have fun like last year“, adds De la Vega. And they started to do it. Unicaja celebrated two titles yesterday in Malaga before starting the season: the Intercontinental Cup and the ACB Super Cup.
The flowers of the Virgin of Victory almost never fade between one trophy and another. First a Copa de Rey, then a Basketball Champions League and now, before starting the season, two other titles. With this honey flavor, hundreds of fans gathered on the steps of the Victory Shrine. As the offering team left, enthusiasm erupted. “Your flag”. The club anthem “cajista” rang out at the top of the lungs, before the players, one by one, sealed the most desired commitment: to fight until their last breath to celebrate again.
There was no carousel in the streets of Malaga, only a meeting at the Sanctuary at 7:00 p.m. so that the supporters, who have the club as a pagan religion, could see their idols, sing, chant and enjoy a new success. Two on this occasion. Fans feel this new golden age of “cajismo”. The trophies are back. “We sometimes do more in a week than in ten years,” said President López Nieto.
Perry brings one of the trophies to the fans
These are no longer memories of the Kórac Cup of 2001, that Copa del Rey of 2005 or that dream ACB of 2006. The drought has only brought joy from the Eurocup of 2017 until today . Now the fans blindly believe. Unicaja presents itself as a candidate for great success. An uncomfortable rival for the grown-ups. They just beat Real Madrid in the Super Cup final, where it seemed like no one could beat the Whites. Last year they had already won Palau and were one step away from the ACB final when they lost to UCAM Murcia.
Fight and shine in equal measure in an effort to make Malaga happy. “Our greatest triumph is to be here and feel your support in Carpena”assured the coach, Ibon Navarro. This year is the year of illusion. Reliving these laurels of Berni and Cabezas, dreaming that Ibon Navarro could leave a legacy like that of Sergio Scariolo. So, at the gates of the Endesa League, which begins this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at the Martín Carpena against the Básquet Girona, everyone believes in Ibon’s project to continue being happy in green.
And there, there is a maxim: work. In fact, due to the tight schedule, the club wanted to reduce the itinerary of the celebrations. This is why he summoned the institutions and fans to the Sanctuary. The first thing is focus and preparation. There will be a party in the street, before Carpena becomes a pressure cooker again. The celebration will continue before the match SATURDAY.
