Real Madrid

Real Madrid's post-season run at the title tips off on Thursday night against Cajasol at Vistalegre Arena.

Ettore Messina and company know a win tonight will put them in the driver's seat in the best-of-three quarterfinal series. It won't be easy though as they face the ACB's sixth place finisher led by coach Joan Plaza. Cajasol have the league's second best defense and conceded an average of 69 points per game, while Real Madrid have the highest scoring offense with 81.24 points per game.

Jorge Garbajosa has plenty of post-season experience under his belt and assures that the team will be "very focused knowing how much is at stake. The first game is always the hardest because of the pressure. We are very capable of winning Game 1, which would be a huge step towards making it into the semis."

REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Team	Place	P	W	L	PF	PA	+/-
Real Madrid	3rd	34	27	7	2762	2442	+320
Cajasol	6th	34	19	15	2406	2334	+72

Real Madrid also play solid 'D' and give up 71.82 ppg, which should play a major role considering Cajasol have the worst offense in the league. Sergio Llull, who scored more than 20 points in the last seven games, and Pablo Prigioni have been on fire of late, while on the other bench Dusko Savanovic has been averaging 13.8 ppg and Tariq Kirksay 7.29 rpg and 2.33 spg.

This will mark the third meeting between the two teams this season. Real Madrid won both previous encounters by comfortable margins (76-56 and 81-61). The only player out for Messina is Travis Hansen, who is recovering from back surgery.

SEASON AVERAGES
TEAM	PF	PA	REB	AS	BL	ST	TO
Real Madrid	81.24	71.82	31.62	16.17	2.59	9.74	13.03
Cajasol	70.76	68.65	32.53	13.24	2.76	9.65	15.74