Special players-staff bond crucial to Unicaja's success

When Ibon Navarro was named as Unicaja coach in February 2022, the Spaniard found a team who were more of a candidate for relegation from the Liga ACB - the top Spanish professional basketball league - than a championship contender.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

His appointment was described on the official site as taking charge of “a new project that starts today”.

More than three years later, it is a project that has yielded seven trophies and propelled Unicaja into one of the most successful clubs in the world. Attendance at their home games has also more than doubled to an average of 9,771 spectators per game.

In the last 2 1/2 seasons, Navarro's plan has brought the club six trophies: the Copa del Rey in 2023 and 2025, Basketball Champions League 2024 and 2025, Fiba Intercontinental Cup 2024 and Endesa Super Cup 2024.

On Sept 21 at the half-full 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium, Unicaja claimed their latest piece of silverware under Navarro, as they retained their Fiba Intercontinental Cup (ICC) crown. The Spanish side prevailed with a 71-61 win over NBA G League United in a repeat of the 2024 final at the same venue.

Such is the 49-year-old's impact on the team that "Ibon has a plan" is a regular chant heard during their home matches at their Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena home in Malaga.

"How long do we have to talk about this?" Navarro quipped, drawing laughter from the room after The Straits Times asked him at the post-final press conference how he had instilled a winning habit in the team.