Por Redaccion End of the regular phase of the LF Challenge in a big way! Unicaja Mijas will face CAB Estepona Jardín de la Costa del Sol this Saturday, April 26th (19:00 hours, broadcasted on ⇒Canal FEB), a Malaga derby that will take place at Pabellón Pineda and will be the prelude to the competition’s playoffs.
Both teams are qualified for the promotion fight, with CAB Estepona Jardín de la Costa del Sol in second place with 24 wins and 5 losses, and Unicaja Mijas in third place with 22-7, making both teams seeded in the playoffs. The Estepona team comes to the match after falling to the leader, Innova-TSN Leganés, by 64 to 60, a result that secured the top spot for the Madrid team, who secured direct promotion to Liga Femenina Endesa. Therefore, both Malaga teams will seek a victory to enter the final stretch of the season with good feelings.
The team coached by Javier Pérez de los Reyes will be without Stephanie Martínez, who suffered a season-ending injury in the last game to the anterior cruciate ligament of her left knee. Elena Moreno will also be absent, as she is in the final stages of recovering from an ankle sprain suffered weeks ago.
This will be the third time the two teams face each other this season. At the beginning of the season, in the Andalusian Cup, Unicaja Mijas prevailed 66 to 60. Months later, at Martín Urbano, the Malaga team defeated Estepona 87 to 70 in a great game by the Herlihy sisters, Brianna (25 points, 7 rebounds, 37 efficiency rating) and Bridget (22 points, 5 rebounds, 25 efficiency rating).
CAB Estepona Jardín de la Costa del Sol, led by former youth coach Francis Tomé, has a strong squad featuring point guard Marina Gea (11 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.7 steals, 17 efficiency rating), former Unicaja Mijas shooting guard Conchi Satorre (7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists), shooter Sara Vujacic (8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds), forward Noelia Masiá with a history in Malaga (6.7 points, 3.5 rebounds), and center Ruth Sherrill (14.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 17.2 efficiency rating).
Looking ahead to the playoff rival
Additionally, the Malaga team will keep an eye on other games to find out their opponent in the quarter-finals of the Liga Femenina Challenge playoffs, which will be determined between Domusa Teknik ISB and Vega Lagunera Toyota Adareva Tenerife.
Currently, the opponent would be the Canarian team, with a record of 16 wins and 13 losses holding the eighth position (It should be noted that the competition’s leader, Innova-TSN Leganés, ascends directly to Liga Femenina Challenge, so they will not participate in the playoffs). In the last round, they will face Alter Enersun Al-Qázeres away, needing a win and hoping for a loss by Domusa Teknik ISB, in seventh place with 17 wins and 12 losses, against Barça CBS to equal them.
If both teams end up tied, Vega Lagunera Toyota Adareva Tenerife will secure the seventh spot having won both matches against the Basque team, who would be the opponent of the Malaga team in the quarter-finals, a double-legged tie with point difference.
Unicaja Mijas will face CAB Estepona Jardín de la Costa del Sol this Saturday, April 26th, starting at 19:00 hours. The match, corresponding to Matchday 30 of the Liga Femenina Challenge, will be broadcasted on ⇒Canal FEB.