The thirteenth edition of the Costa del Sol Basketball Tournament will bring together Unicaja, Baskonia and AS Monaco from 5 to 7 September, with matches in Alhaurín de la Torre, Manilva and Málaga. At the last of these matches, a moving tribute will be paid to Carlos Suárez, who wore the Málaga club’s shirt for nine seasons.
This was explained by Francisco Salado, president of the Diputación, and Antonio Jesús López Nieto, president of Unicaja, who presented this three-team tournament at an event also attended by the mayors of Alhaurín de la Torre and Manilva, Joaquín Villanova and José Manuel Fernández respectively, and the Málaga Town Hall sports councillor, Borja Vivas. Salado said that one of the aims of the provincial institution is «to bring professional sport closer to all the citizens of the province».
For this reason, tickets cost seven euros and the three matches will be broadcast on 101 TV. López Nieto, for his part, said that this is «the best summer tournament in Spanish basketball».
On Thursday 5 September, Alhaurín de la Torre will host the first match of the Costa del Sol Tournament, which will pit Unicaja against the winner of the last two editions of the French league, AS Monaco. Their ranks include outstanding players such as the American point guard Mike James, Euroleague MVP, under coach Sasa Obradovic.
On Friday 6 September, in Manilva, Baskonia – coached this season by Pablo Laso, one of the most decorated coaches in Europe, who returns to the Liga Endesa – will face AS Monaco.
On Saturday 7 September, at the Palacio de los Deportes José María Martín Carpena, the two Spanish teams, Unicaja and Baskonia, will meet, and there will be a very special moment with the tribute to Carlos Suárez, one of the most decisive and best-loved players in Unicaja’s history, who is retiring from the court and will be able to wear the Málaga club’s shirt one last time. Since his arrival in 2013, Carlos Suárez has become the player not born in Málaga who has played for Unicaja the most times, having played a total of 437 games. Statistically, he is the best in total rating in the club’s history, with 4,055, and second in total rebounds, with 1,772. On 4 April 2017 he was a key figure in winning the Eurocup in that legendary comeback at Valencia Basket’s court, which made him the second Unicaja player to lift a trophy after Berni Rodríguez.
On 7 September, the Martín Carpena will have the chance to say goodbye to and thank one of its own. Minutes after the event, Unicaja announced that tickets are now on sale at a price of 7 euros.
