League semifinal spot secured

Real Madrid have booked their place in the Endesa League semi-finals. Our team got the better of Baskonia once more, this time away from home, to make it 2-0 in the quarter-finals series. The hard-fought victory was led by Llull (19 points and a PIR of 20), Tavares (14 points, 10 rebounds and a PIR of 22) Campazzo and Feliz (17 points and PIR of 21 each), and sees Madrid extend their remarkable 24-game winning streak. 

In the next round, Chus Mateo’s boys will take on the winner of the series between Barcelona and Unicaja, currently tied at 1-1. The madridistas will enjoy homecourt advantage in the best-of-five semifinal, getting underway with the first two games at the Movistar Arena.

The game began at a frenetic pace, with neither team wanting to give up any ground. Early triples for Llull and Abalde were quickly matched by Šamanić and Forrest, but Tavares pulled the scoreboard in our favour (8-12). Baskonia then managed to edge in front (25-23, min. 7) thanks to sublime accuracy from the perimeter (7/9). The hosts held onto their advantage with triples by Moneke and Baldwin, and the first quarter finished 33-27.

Baskonia on fire from three
Baskonia weren't messing around, and they raced to +8 as they continued to shoot well from outside (11/14). Then, with the scores at 45-37, Musa came to the fore to cut the gap with 5 consecutive points (min. 17). Campazzo, with 6 points, and Garuba, with 4, joined in on the act to match the Vitorian rampage and take the game into the break at 56-54.

Real Madrid come back
Llull took on the task of levelling the clash just as the third quarter got underway, before Abalde put Real Madrid back into the lead. Campazzo's eight points counteracted six for Šamanić to keep our noses in front (71-72, min. 26). The team looked dominant on the rebound and, thanks to great accuracy from outside (5/8), managed to take the game to +7 heading into the final quarter (81-88) with a slick last three minutes.

Feliz took up the mantle in the final period, alongside Musa, who posted 6 and 4 points respectively (87-98, min. 34). Luwawu-Cabarrot hit back with another six successive points to cut the madridista advantage to +5. However, Llull hit a big triple to make it 93-101. The opposition offensive was led by Forrest, who sunk a dunk and four free throws to make it 101-106 despite five points for Tavares (min. 38).

In the closing moments, Llull (6 points) and the Cape-Verde native made sure of the win, showing great composure from the free throw line (103-112, min. 40).

BASKONIA-REAL MADRID STATISTICS