Impressive Real Madrid take upper hand in semi-finals

Real Madrid defeated Unicaja Málaga and took a 1-0 lead in the league semi-finals with their 25th consecutive victory in this competition. The Whites put in a great performance, both in defence and attack, sinking nine three-pointers in the first quarter and leaving the game all but decided at half-time with a 20-point lead (51-31). Musa, with 23 points and 27 in PIR, and Campazzo, with 10, 7 assists and 5 recoveries, were the standout performers in a team display that saw them remain unbeaten at home: 28 wins in a row, 19 of them this season to equal the record set in 2010/11.

The Madridistas got off to a flying start. From the outset, they struck the perfect balance in their gameplay, with strong collective defence, solid rebounding and virtually no turnovers, completely neutralising Unicaja's virtues. All this was topped off with impressive accuracy from the three-point line. The Whites made 9 of 15 attempts, with Musa (12 points and 4/4), Hezonja (9 and 3/5) and Ndiaye (6 and 2/2) sharing the scoring to finish the first quarter 15 points ahead (29-14).

Madridistas dominate
In the second quarter, Chus Mateo's boys saw their shooting percentages from the perimeter drop slightly and had to look for points closer to the hoop. Campazzo stepped up to the plate, dishing out seven assists. But the key was the intensity in defence (the Argentine point guard recovered five balls). Madrid held Unicaja to 31 points on 30% shooting in the first 20 minutes, forcing them into 8 turnovers. The Malaga side clawed back with offensive rebounds and several three-pointers from their tall players to stay in the contest. But Madrid produced another burst with three minutes to go before the break, going on an 11-4 run spearheaded by Abalde with 7 points and Hezonja with 4, to extend their lead to +20 (51-31).

Madrid on track for victory
Campazzo continued his masterclass and, with another seven points, handed his side their biggest lead of the game midway through the third quarter (63-38). From then on, the game entered a phase of trading blows, which Madrid controlled comfortably. Kalinoski gave it a go, but Unicaja came up against a team in whose every component was working perfectly and which had energy to spare. Feliz took up the mantle and the home side won the third quarter as well (75-53).

Madrid did not drop their intensity in the final quarter and put on a display of physical prowess with Hugo González, Garuba, until he had to leave the court due to a cut, Bruno Fernando and Tavares. The centre, with his fourth block, became the second highest blocker in ACB history, surpassing Fernando Romay (672). They all contributed to a resounding victory and got the semi-finals off to the best possible start (99-81, min. 40). In less than 48 hours, it's time for round two (Friday, 9.15 pm CEST).

STATISTICS FROM REAL MADRID-UNICAJA