Real Madrid

At midday today, in the Town Hall of Leganés, the 29th instalment of the Region of Madrid tournament was presented, which will see Real Madrid take on Asefa Estudiantes in the one-off game this Sunday. Juan Carlos Sánchez Lázaro, director of basketball and Alberto Herreros, the technical director, were in attendance as representatives of the Whites. “This is a tournament that we have been winning for many years, but a derby game is a derby game and there are many incentives. We will try to bring the trophy home for another year”, explained Herreros about the game which will be played at the Pabellón Europa.

AS current holders of the trophy, Real Madrid will try to defend for the ninth year in a row a trophy that they have lifted 19 times in their history. Alberto Herreros is aware that Estudiantes will be tough opponents and they will be highly motivated to beat their arch rivals to the trophy: “This is a tournament that we have been winning for many years, but a derby game is a derby game and there are many incentives. We will try to bring the trophy home for another year”.

It will be the second derby of the pre-season after the two teams met in the final of the Sportquarters tournament in Guadalajara, when the Whites ran out 78-75 winners. “It was a very even game littered with errors given the little preparation both teams took into the game. A Real Madrid-Estudiantes meeting is always a good game and entertaining for the fans”, said the ex-Real Madrid player.

Real Madrid’s technical director also spoke about the flawless pre-season campaign of the team thus far, as they have recorded four wins in four games: “When you have an established base made up of players who are all settled in, it is not unusual to get off to a flying start while other teams are only getting to know the new members of their squads. We are very happy with our new players and the speed with which they have settled in”.