Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 89-87 victory over Unicaja Malaga in their opening match of the Liga Endesa season on Sunday, September 27, at the Movistar Arena in front of 8,123 spectators. The match was tense, with Real Madrid trailing by eight points at six minutes and a half from the end (70-78) before a strong finish from Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot helped turn the game around. Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 8 of his 14 points in the final quarter, showing crucial composure under pressure. Unicaja had controlled the game early, leading at halftime (46-47) and at the end of the third quarter (65-71). Willy Hernangómez was the top scorer with 20 points and recorded four blocks in less than five minutes after halftime. Amine Noua added 18 points for Real Madrid, contributing significantly to the team's effort. Facundo Campazzo played a key role in bringing the game back to parity at three minutes from the end (81-81). A ball loss due to a miscommunication between Thé'o Maledon and Walter Tavares gave Unicaja a brief advantage (84-85) in the final minute. However, Luwawu-Cabarrot tied the game at 87-85 with a three-point shot 41 seconds before the final buzzer. Ignas Brazdeikis was ejected for five fouls and had to leave the court at the end of the match. Noua's final shot, attempted from his half of the court, missed the target. Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with 14 points in 24 minutes, 4 of 7 from two-point range, 2 of 6 from three-point range, and 5 rebounds. Thé'o Maledon was the most effective Real Madrid player, with 17 points, 7 decisive passes, and 23 evaluation points. Campazzo scored 15 points. This was Real Madrid's first official home match since its elimination in the quarterfinals of the championship playoffs in early June, against La Laguna Tenerife. Txus Vidorreta, who was then coaching the Canarian team, is now the coach of Unicaja, while Pedro Martínez has succeeded Sergio Scariolo on the Real Madrid bench. Before the game, the club presented the trophy of the Euroleague Super Cup, won on September 19 in Abu Dhabi. Three days earlier, the Real Madrid team had however lost their first Euroleague match on the court in Dubai (78-77). Luwawu-Cabarrot, who arrived this season from Baskonia with a two-season contract, is coming off his best season of his career, top scorer of the Liga Endesa 2025-26 with 18.6 points per game and fourth in the MVP vote. In preparation, he had already scored 26 points for 27 evaluation points during Real Madrid's victory over La Laguna Tenerife (97-90) on September 11 at the Marbella Costa del Sol tournament. At the forward position, the roster includes Alberto Abalde, Gabriele Procida, and Gabriel Deck. Abalde and Deck each scored 9 points against Unicaja, while Procida did not appear on the statistics sheet. The start of the season will show how Pedro Martínez distributes playing time among them and what role he gives the Frenchman in the closing moments of the game, alongside Campazzo, Maledon, and Tavares.