Real Madrid-Valencia Basket: the Copa del Rey gets underway
Our team head to the Olímpico de Badalona this evening for the quarter-final clash (6:30pm CET).
Real Madrid are in Badalona as they begin their quest for what would be a 29th Copa del Rey, starting with tonight's quarter-final meeting with Valencia Basket 6:30pm CET. Our team, the most decorated in the competition, will hope to book a place in Saturday's semi-finals against the winner of Barça-Unicaja. Chus Mateo's boys come into the tournament in a rich vein of form after notching up seven successive wins.
Thirty-nine years on from the last time, Madrid are back in Badalona for the final phase of the competition. That year, they got their hands on the trophy with a win over Joventut in the final 90-76. This evening, the first obstacle are their Euroleague rivals and one-time Copa del Rey champions 1998. The team come into the game sitting top of the pile in the league and in the hunt for the same place in Europe. Unbeaten in February 4 wins, they have won 12 of their last 13. Valencia Basket meanwhile lie eighth in the League but are saving their best for Europe, where they are into the playoff spots.
The encounter pits two of the League's best offenses against each other, meaning defense takes on even greater significance. In that sense, Madrid have the edge, conceding on average 10 fewer points per game 75.3 than the Valencia side 85.1. Mumbrú's boys are nothing if not competitive and boast a solid block led by Jones, Rivero and Dubljevic. They also possess real threat on the triple and physicality on the inside.
Previous meetings
This will be the fifth times the teams face off in the Copa. Madrid have won all four so far. The first clash came in the 2011 semi-finals, which ended in a 69-59 victory. Next was the 2017 final in Vitoria, where Llull led the madridistas to 97-95. The captain is within touching distance of a host of competition records titles, triples and assists. In the 2020 semi-finals, we also made it through the first round with a 91-68 win and the last head-to-head came in the quarters of 2021, another 85-74 victory. From 6:30 this evening, our team will look to book the first place in the Final Four.
Thirty-nine years on from the last time, Madrid are back in Badalona for the final phase of the competition. That year, they got their hands on the trophy with a win over Joventut in the final 90-76. This evening, the first obstacle are their Euroleague rivals and one-time Copa del Rey champions 1998. The team come into the game sitting top of the pile in the league and in the hunt for the same place in Europe. Unbeaten in February 4 wins, they have won 12 of their last 13. Valencia Basket meanwhile lie eighth in the League but are saving their best for Europe, where they are into the playoff spots.
The encounter pits two of the League's best offenses against each other, meaning defense takes on even greater significance. In that sense, Madrid have the edge, conceding on average 10 fewer points per game 75.3 than the Valencia side 85.1. Mumbrú's boys are nothing if not competitive and boast a solid block led by Jones, Rivero and Dubljevic. They also possess real threat on the triple and physicality on the inside.
Previous meetings
This will be the fifth times the teams face off in the Copa. Madrid have won all four so far. The first clash came in the 2011 semi-finals, which ended in a 69-59 victory. Next was the 2017 final in Vitoria, where Llull led the madridistas to 97-95. The captain is within touching distance of a host of competition records titles, triples and assists. In the 2020 semi-finals, we also made it through the first round with a 91-68 win and the last head-to-head came in the quarters of 2021, another 85-74 victory. From 6:30 this evening, our team will look to book the first place in the Final Four.