Defeat in the last play of overtime

Real Madrid were unable to continue the best start in the EuroLeague since 2016/17. After ten consecutive wins, they suffered their first defeat at the hands of Fenerbahçe, who have yet to lose in front of their home fans. It was an intense, power-to-power game in which we were the better team for 37 minutes. But our opponents forced extra time and scored the winning basket in the final minute. Campazzo was not rewarded for his brilliant performance with a record 33 points without a missed two point shot, 7 assists and 32 PIR. Chus Mateo's team still leads the competition nevertheless.
Istanbul's Ulker Sports and Event Hall welcomed Madrid with a spectacular atmosphere. This did not deter our team, who once again put in a devastating performance. They subdued Fenerbahçe and were very aggressive in defence, denying them offensive rebounds with the excellent work of the Deck-Ndiaye-Tavares trio (11 rebounds between them). And in attack, another showcase. Two days ago, they scored 36 points in the first quarter against Maccabi, and today they scored 29 with over 70% shooting and a brilliant campazzo. Nobody could stop him. He scored 16 points without a miss (16 PIR) with impossible penetrations, to which he added two three-pointers. He was accompanied by Llull with 5 points and the team finished the first quarter with a huge advantage (16-29).

Madrid responds
The home side, who had withstood the Madrid gale as best they could at the start with the offensive contribution of Calathes (8) and a run of three three-pointers, managed to slow down the pace of the game in the second quarter and score more assiduously, regularly going to the line. Madar, Guduric and Motley brought their team within two points (33-35, min.17). Madrid were resisting Fenerbahçe's push. Things were not going their way in attack, with the exception of a couple of alley-oops between Sergio Rodríguez and Poirier. A time-out by Chus Mateo and the entrance of Campazzo and Deck changed the scenario. Again the point guard took control. He restored Madrid's inspiration and made the play of the game with a steal and a 2+1 over two defenders (his first half was brutal with 19 points and 22 PIR in 14 minutes). The leader reacted from his hand with a 0-7 run to reach the break at 37-44.
Fenerbahçe continued to test the mental strength of our team and came close to drawing level with three-pointers at 47-48 at the midway point of the third quarter. But Madrid did not give in to the pressure. With the Ottomans in full effervescence and Campazzo propping us up, the captain emerged with some tremendous minutes, giving the team peace of mind. He scored 6 almost consecutive points (including a three-pointer with a personal foul) and led a 0-10 run (59-67, min.30). Our team stayed ahead for most of the last quarter, showing their collective play, and with four minutes left we were leading 74-81. Tavares committed his fifth personal foul and Fenerbahçe gradually cut the deficit until the score was level at 87 with 9 seconds left after a three-pointer by Wilbekin. Deck slipped up in the last possession and it was time to go into overtime.

Bad luck at the end
The added time was a non-stop exchange of baskets. First Madrid scored, with Llull and Deck, and Fenerbahçe replied with Guduric and Hayes-Davis. Four points from Poirier brought our team closer to victory at 94-98 with 25 seconds to go, but after a succession of free throws, they were one down with six seconds to go. Time in which we took a throw-in and a local steal allowed Madar's winning basket (100-99, min.40). Next stop is a fresh league game on Sunday at the WiZink Center against Río Breogán (12:30pm CET).

FENERBAHÇE-REAL MADRID STATISTICS