Malaga Stuns the World: Underdogs Dethrone NBA Development League Team and European Champions to Claim Intercontinental Cup Glory
Unicaja Malaga Wins 34th FIBA Intercontinental Cup
European champions Unicaja Malaga secured the 34th FIBA Intercontinental Cup basketball tournament title by defeating NBA G League United 79-68.
Malaga had not lost in the entire tournament, having won the previous two matches by a large margin. In the final, the NBA Development League team struggled for two quarters before losing. Since 1974, no American club has won the tournament.
The D-League team struggled in the first quarter at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and after struggling for 15 minutes, they were defeated on both offense and defense. Malaga continued to win in the third quarter and led by 18 points.
The Development League team was exhausted, with no achievements on both offense and defense, and could not adapt to the intensity of the confrontation. Malaga from Spain finally won the championship with an 11-point advantage. This is also the 11th time that a club from Spain has won the championship of this event.
Development League forward Bowden scored a game-high 20 points, but was unable to stop four Malaga players from scoring in double digits at the same time.
In the third place match held earlier, Australian champions Tasmania JackJumpers trailed by seven points in the first three quarters, but with only one minute left in the final quarter, Drmic made a three-pointer and defeated Beirut of Lebanon 80-75 to take third place.
African champions, Angolan team Petro De Luanda, defeated the Champions League champions, Argentina’s Quimsa, 70-64, and finished fifth in the tournament.
Miao Lijie on Her Hall of Fame Induction
Chinese women’s basketball star Miao Lijie, who became a member of the 2024 FIBA Hall of Fame, believes that becoming a member of the Hall of Fame is the highest honor of her career.
As the fourth Chinese basketball player to enter the Hall of Fame, Miao Lijie led the Chinese women’s basketball team to the semi-finals at the Beijing Olympics. Talking about the plight of failing to qualify for the group stage at the Paris Olympics, Miao Lijie noticed that the overall level of the Chinese women’s basketball team has declined a lot, which should be due to training and injury problems.
Chinese women’s basketball players like Li Meng and Li Yueru are playing in the WNBA. As a veteran, Miao Lijie hopes that the younger generation can learn self-discipline: “Playing in the WNBA will greatly improve your performance, because Chinese players generally have poor self-management and initiative.”
When talking about the differences between FIBA and the NBA, Miao Lijie said that the American league focuses on individuals: “American basketball is more entertainment and cultural, while FIBA focuses on improving the level of world basketball.”
When talking about the future of women’s basketball, Miao Lijie humorously concluded: “Women’s basketball is becoming more masculine, and men’s basketball is becoming more ’savage’.” Miao Lijie added that the level of basketball must move forward, and for women’s basketball, it means continuous breakthroughs and increased intensity of confrontation.
Miao Lijie also hopes that her career can inspire more women to join the ranks of basketball. She said: ”I am not very tall, but I can still play well.” Miao Lijie hopes that women can improve their self-confidence and continue to strengthen themselves by participating in sports.