SINGAPORE (Singapore) - It all comes down to this. Unicaja, as the Basketball Champions League winners, are up against the NBA G League United, a select team representing the G League, in the Final of the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
It will be either the fourth time across the last six editions that a Spanish team lifts the trophy, or the first time that a team from the United States wins this competition since 1974, when the Maryland Terrapins edged out Italy's Ignis Varese by a single point to clinch the title at the six-team event held in Mexico City.
Key matchup: Who is the better shooter? Charlie Brown has been impressive for the NBA G League United, knocking down 6-of-13 shots from beyond the arc, and he averaged 17.0 points in nearly 30 minutes per game for coach Paul Hewitt.
However, as impressive as that is, Brown's hand hasn't been as hot as Tyler Kalinoski 's has. The Unicaja catch-and-shoot specialist is feeling good in Singapore, scoring 29 points in 28 minutes of action during the group stage, while hitting 7-of-14 from deep.
Both of them can change the course of the game, it's just a matter of who gets hot first under the bright lights of the Final.
X factors: For Unicaja, it's going to come down to what Kendrick Perry described as "us being us" - their passing. The Spaniards have dished out 54 assists total over the first two games, sharing the ball and the minutes, too, as each of the 12 guys on the roster saw at least 13 minutes of action in their second game at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
If Unicaja put together another team-first effort, it could be the first time that they ended up on top of the standings at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. Spain has been the best performing country in the history of this competition, with 10 titles but this is Unicaja first appearance and they now have a chance to join Real Madrid, La Laguna Tenerife, Hereda San Pablo Burgos and FC Barcelona.
For United, the path to the top is paved by steals and ball pressure. The G Leaguers came up with a total of 22 steals over their first two games, leading to 22.5 points off turnovers per game.
One more game like that, and they could join the Terrapins and the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots on the list of winning teams from the United States. Maryland did it once, Akron won it three straight times from 1967 to 1969, while a select team from the National Alliance of Basketball Leagues (NABL) won the Intercontinental Cup in 1972, the only time when national teams, rather not clubs, participated in the competition.
It's USA against Spain once again, and there's not a lot of rivalries in international basketball quite like that one.
How to watch: The game tips off at 19:00 local time in Singapore, which is 13:00 in Malaga, Spain; 7:00 a.m. in New York and 4:00 a.m. in Los Angeles.
Basketball fans worldwide will have the chance to watch all games LIVE from Singapore, either on a TV channel, on the official FIBA YouTube channel, on Courtside 1891 or via a streaming service. You can find the list of broadcasters here.
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