85-76: Leaders mark Alocén return with victory

There were two reasons to celebrate this afternoon at the WiZink Center. Real Madrid overcame Morabanc Andorra to record their tenth league win and Alocén made his return to play in our jersey after sustaining a serious injury on 14 February 2022. Chus Mateo's troops overwhelmed their opponents throughout the game, with leads of up to 16 points and Tavares and Hezonja pulling the strings. The center posted 30 in PIR (16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks) and the forward finished with 23 (21 points and 6 rebounds) in 23 minutes of play. Causeur was also influential in the third quarter. It was the 21st win of the season for the Whites, who will close November with an away EuroLeague double-header next week (Maccabi and Fenerbahçe).

The leaders got off to a good start, with seven minutes of attacking brilliance with the Sergio Rodríguez-Tavares pairing devastating the visitors (7 points and 3 rebounds from the centre and 4 assists from the point guard), which helped them to build their lead (17-9) in a quarter where the most eagerly awaited moment of the game came to pass. With 3:28 minutes left, Alocén stepped onto the court after almost two years on the sidelines to a standing ovation from the WiZink Center, marking the culmination of a gruelling recovery process (he scored a point and forced a foul in 4:34). Morabanc Andorra withstood the pressure with some good zonal defending (20-16, min. 10).

Super Mario in action
Maric pulled the Principality side to within one point at the start of the second quarter (22-21, min. 13). Madrid were still struggling to score, but Hezonja decided that it was time to mend their ways. The Croatian, who had come in off the back of an outstanding display against Alba Berlin (26 points and 5 three-pointers), stormed into the game in style. He ripped the opposition defence to shreds in a flash. He hit 11 of his 13 points in this period in three minutes, with three triples and a dunk to lead an 18-3 run to reach a 16-point lead at the 17-minute mark (40-24). This was another madridista assault that Morabanc Andorra tried to counter with their point guard Montero spearheading the team in attack (43-33, min. 20).

The contest was heading in the Whites' favour, and there was a clear sense of control for the home side. Nevertheless, Morabanc Andorra did not stop battling and stepped up in attack, with Montero intent on getting his team back on track. But again and again they encountered the collective strength of Chus Mateo's charges, who countered decisively. First, Causeur (seven points), and after Harding hit back it was Musa who stepped up from three-point range. Tavares added to the score (26 in 19 minutes) in a highly offensive third quarter (26-26) that ended 69-59 on the scoreboard.

Final push for the victory
The exchange of points continued in the final quarter until Morabanc Andorra went on a 2-11 run to pull themselves back into the game (76-72, min. 36). However, that got Madrid's players going again and there ended the hopes of Nacho Lezcano's team. The leaders bounced back with a resounding and definitive 11-2 run. They upped their intensity at the back and between Llull (two three-pointers) and the pairing of Hezonja and Tavares, today's standout performers, they settled the contest (85-76, min. 40).

REAL MADRID-MORABANC ANDORRA STATISTICS