Leaders clinch big win at Olympiacos

The table-toppers laid down a statement of intent with a win over Olympiacos on the road in a repeat of last year's EuroLeague final. They enjoyed a sublime victory on what is a very tough away trip to Athens, up against opposition who showed just how good they are, pushing us to the limit once again. Real Madrid underlined the strength of their group and winning mentality to deliver a complete performance and scoop an eleventh win, the first of this week's double header that pits us against Panathinaikos on Thursday (8:15pm CET). Musa (23 points, 5 triples, and 21 in PIR) was superb alongside Hezonja (18, 10 rebounds and 21) and Tavares (11 and 18).

Six months on from the final in Kaunas, Europe's best two teams went head-to-head once more. This time, Athens was the scene for the clash and Olympiacos showed their intentions from the tip-off. They played on the edge with their aggression in an attempt to disrupt Madrid but our boys kept their focus and matched their rival's intensity, showing patience in offense. That balance saw them build a lead in the opening period, led by Campazzo (3 of the team's 7 assists), while Tavares got the better of Fall in the clash of the giants (9 points) and Ndiaye proved productive (5). The lead raced to +6 (17-23, min.10) against the Greeks, who were being kept afloat by Larentzakis and a strong offensive rebound (19-23).

Madrid in control
The second quarter was more of the same, thanks to some fine collective defense and Hezonja's class in offense. The forward was a joy to watch, spearheading another sublime  5-12 run with 9 points almost in a row to stretch the scores to the biggest difference of the half (29-37, min.18). But the offensive rebound was causing problems and a combination of Walkup, Larentzakis and Fall plugged the gap before half-time and made it 36-37.

The break did nothing to alter the dynamic of the evenly-matched game as both teams continued to trade blows. Madrid called on Musa to step up and his 8 points kept us on top. The hosts then turned up the heat as Canaan posted with ease from the free-throw line and Fall ran riot in the paint to put his team in front for the first time in the 20 minutes. The Peace and Friendship Stadium got behind their team but it wasn't to last long. Our boys were about to produce a reaction through the superb Campazzo and extraordinary Musa. The Bosnian hit 16 points in the third quarter, including four triples without a miss. Hezonja and Poirier joined in the fun with some nice minutes in defense to wrest back the initiative at 54-61 (min.29).

Madrid stand firm
Madrid's sudden reaction was then followed by a similar spell from Olympiacos, who sunk three successive triples. It was even once again and the closing stretch looked like turning into an end-to-end affair. Our team refused to be intimidated though, despite the building pressure, and went for one last collective push. Lifting their defensive efforts still further, they closed out the rebound thanks to some fantastic work by Tavares, Deck and Hezonja. The center posted two key baskets up the other end, assisted by Campazzo, before blocking Canaan's attempted triple in the final minute. The Croatian finished with a double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds), while Llull exhibited his fine spell of form once more, bringing calm to the team when they needed it most. Olympiacos managed just three points to our team's eight in the final minutes to make it 71-77 at the buzzer.

OLYMPIACOS-REAL MADRID STATISTICS