Hapoel Tel Aviv-Real Madrid: a new opportunity to secure the place in the Final Four

Real Madrid faces the fourth game of the EuroLeague playoff tonight against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Scariolo's team will try to close out the series at the Arena Botevgrad in Bulgaria and secure their ticket to the Final Four. The last time our team had a 2-1 lead, they won the fourth game and closed the series. That was in 2015, a year in which they claimed their ninth European Cup.

A new chapter in an unprecedented playoff between the madridistas and the Israeli side, and a second opportunity to achieve the goal of reaching the fourth Final Four in the last five seasons. To do so, they will need to defeat a Hapoel Tel Aviv team that avoided elimination last Tuesday in their first decisive game. One key factor has been pivotal in the five matchups this season: rebounding. Whoever wins the rebounding battle, wins the game.

Madrid let the victory slip away last Tuesday during the third quarter. The rest of the game was very evenly matched. However, Scariolo's team needs to shine collectively, as they did at the Movistar Arena, and regain freshness and energy against an opponent that had more rest and whose individual talents, in this case Bryant and Jones, decided the game.

Two precedents with a 2-1 lead
In both cases, Real Madrid advanced to the Final Four. In the 2013/14 season, they eliminated Olympiacos (3-2), and in 2014/15, they defeated Anadolu Efes (3-1). In the latter playoff, they achieved it in the fourth game with a victory in Istanbul. That win allowed them to reach the Madrid Final Four, where they eventually lifted the Ninth. Tonight, they aim for the ticket to Athens.

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.