On matchday 15 of the EuroLeague, Real Madrid faced Baskonia at the Movistar Arena after four consecutive away wins. The Whites started the game standing in 10th place with eight wins and six losses. The team has recently regained consistency, including victories against Anadolu Efes and Hapoel Tel Aviv. Baskonia went into the game as the 15th in the rankings.
Real Madrid suffered a surprising defeat in their last encounter with Baskonia in the Liga ACB. Despite a clear lead of up to 20 points, Sergio Scariolo’s team ultimately lost 100:105.
Both teams started the game strongly and took turns scoring baskets. While Baskonia waited for mistakes by the home team and looked to launch explosive counterattacks, Madrid patiently tried to build up play from the back. Point guard Facundo Campazzo in particular took responsibility from the very first minute and made an impact with his decision-making in the build-up play. The first quarter ended 24:23 in favour of Real Madrid.
In the second quarter Trey Lyles was unable to show off his offensive qualities as he had done in the last game against the Basque team. The power forward brought pace to the court, but lacked accuracy in his finishing. After five minutes with a score of 29:32, coach Sergio Scariolo brought Walter Tavares and Campazzo back onto the court. But even with them, the defensive assignment and offensive accuracy were lacking. Small forward Mario Hezonja brought more pace to the offense and scored points for Los Blancos. The game remained tight at 42:39 at half-time, with both teams pursuing their own playing style. Coach Scariolo seemed as if he did not want to take too many risks based on the last encounter with Baskonia.
Madrid started the second half better than their opponents, and once again it was Hezonja who launched the most dangerous offensive actions. Thanks to three-pointers by Hezonja and Campazzo and a two-pointer by Tavares the scoreboard soon showed 55:43. After that, the home side created chance after chance. Madrid remained the better team, ending the quarter with a score of 71:60.
In the final quarter Baskonia got off to a better start and took the lead over Madrid with a three-pointer by Markus Howard to make it 76:77. The Whites were not intimidated though, and just seconds later made it 82:77. Paolo Galbiati’s squad stepped up again towards the end of the game, as the victory suddenly seemed within reach once more. However, Real Madrid had now found more stability in defense. The home team put in a confident performance at the end, did not allow itself to be overrun as in the last duel against Baskonia, and ultimately brought home an important 94:87 victory.
Today’s performances of Tavares, Campazzo and Hezonja were particularly important, as they stabilised Real Madrid and had a decisive influence on the team. The rematch against Baskonia was an important opportunity to boost confidence and aim for a place in the top eight in order to qualify for the playoffs.
Real Madrid coach Sergio Scariolo was satisfied with his team’s performance at the post-match press conference. He particularly praised «the good job we did to defend these guys» and focused in particular on Baskonia’s point guard Markus Howard. Nevertheless, he criticised his team for suffering from «a bit of miscommunication and imbalance» at times. However, he said the starting line-up had performed at a high level.
Regarding the team’s future, he emphasised that «it is very important to continue this momentum, because the moment of losing will come. We need to fight. We want to win every single game.»
He particularly praised Mario Hezonja and Facundo Campazzo. «He is a player that we expect this type of performance from, but we have to congratulate him,» he said of Campazzo’s performance.
Real Madrid has several important games coming up. In Europe, the team will face Emporio Armani Milan. At the same time, they will continue their league campaign against Bàsquet Girona.