Real Madrid-UCAM Murcia: aiming for the Copa del Rey semifinales
Chus Mateo's team play their quarterfinal clash this evening against the Murcia outfit (6:00pm CET).
Real Madrid get another Copa del Rey campaign underway this evening in Málaga. Chus Mateo's boys are the most decorated team in the competition (28 titles) as they face UCAM Murcia in the quarterfinals. It's an unprecedented match-up in this round, where the madridistas will be hoping to clinch a place in Saturday's semifinal.
It's the first of three encounters we'll have to come through if we want to get our hands on our second trophy of the season following the Super Cup success. Madrid come into the tournament top of the League and the EuroLeague, boasting a phenomenal record of 43 wins in 50 games. Up the other end will be one of the great surprises of the ACB season, who sit fifth in the table on 13 wins and 9 defeats, as well as being one of the very few teams to have beaten us so far. In that game, we were without Llull, Musa, Rudy, Tavares and Poirier. They're all back in the squad today though, and in the first half of the season, we won out 106-92 at the WiZink Center.
Copa history
Experience will play a key role too. We have never missed out on a Copa del Rey knock-out, and Rudy and Llull hold the most titles of any active player (6), one behind madridista legend Felipe Reyes and Juan Carlos Navarro. The Murcian unit are in the competition for the third time, following appearances in 1995/96 and 2021/22. They reached the semifinals on both occasions. We have met only once in the Copa del Rey, the third-fourth place playoff in 1996, which ended in a 74-68 win.
The opposition
Tonight's rivals are strong on the offensive rebound and among the top ball winners in the league. Without Birgander, it's Sleva, Radovic and Todorovic who have stepped up on the inside. The points from the outside come through Ennis, Kurucs and Hakanson, but the latter is injured for this game. Madrid are the epitome of strength as a unit, averaging 111.3 PIR in the League, with six players in double digits.
Previous games in Málaga
The last two editions played in the city hold fantastic memories for Real Madrid, who were crowned champions on both visits. In 2014 Málaga played host to the legendary Llull basket 0.1 seconds from the buzzer that clinched victory in the decider against Barcelona (76-77). More recently, in 2020, we beat Unicaja with a sublime 68-95, led by tournament MVP Campazzo.