Real Madrid

This is the first derby of the season. Real Madrid and Estudiantes come face to face in a summer tournament which will be used as a warm-up for the now traditional Community trophy, which will take place next week. Both teams qualified from their Sportsquarters semi finals against Blusens and UCAM Murcia respectively and will face off at 12:00pm at the Multiusos de Aguas Vivas (Realmadrid TV and Marca TV).

The Whites, who defeated Moncho Fernández’s men 86-60, will try to maintain their unbeaten run in the pre-season campaign. To do so, they must win their first derby match, which will see them crowned champions of the Sportquarters Series tournament. Laso now has a team which have been moving forward and, although in pre-season, are in perfect physical condition. Mirotic has not let up in his assault on opposing teams and his performances have been one of the highlights of the summer. Despite the setbacks in the match against Blusens, the whole team could play in the final. At least both Rudy and Begic trained on Saturday and no further problems were encountered and it is hoped that they will be ready for the game against Estudiantes.

Estudiantes beat UCAM Murcia 77-68, and their main firepower was provided by Granger and English, among others. As for Madrid, Sergio Rodríguez showed that, despite joining up with the squad in pre-season later due to his appearance at the Olympic Games, he is still in top form and has his speed and ability to read the game, as well as his ability to make the right decisions. And more good news comes in the form of the quickness with which the new players have settled in. If Slaughter was brought in to provide intensity and strength, the results are already evident.