Madrid defeated in Bilbao

Real Madrid came away empty-handed from their visit to Bilbao. Chus Mateo's charges came up against a very inspired side from three-point range, which hit more than 70% of their shots in the first two quarters. Madrid's impressive second-half performance was not enough, and after reducing their deficit by 14 points, they were unable to complete the comeback. Campazzo was the team's standout performer, scoring 16 points and registering 29 in PIR. His compatriot Deck, who produced a great second-half display with 23 points and 21 in PIR, and Hezonja (18 and 16) also excelled.
 
The game was played at a rapid pace in the early stages of the game, involving frequent interchanges of blows. Real Madrid took the initiative with three-pointers and rebounds, while Bilbao relied on quick transitions to follow in their opponents' footprints (11-15, min. 5). It was then that Kullamae and De Ridder stepped up to give their team an extra push and spearhead a 13-2 run. The first quarter ended on level terms courtesy of Musa's accuracy from free-throw shooting (22-18).
 
Bilbao clinical from three-point range
Chus Mateo’s team's lack of effectiveness in attack meant that the deficit widened further (30-20 min. 14). Madrid showed moments of offensive sparkle thanks to Campazzo (5 points and 3 assists) and Hezonja's three-pointers (10 points), but the home side succeeded in stopping a response from the perimeter thanks to their 70% success rate. Ultimately, Ponsarnau's team took the second quarter to go into the break ahead (46-34).

After the interval, there was not much change and Bilbao Basket opened up the biggest lead of the game (51-36; min. 22). There appeared to be nothing to do in response to the Basques' incredible ability to score from the perimeter. However, this was when the Whites summoned up the courage that characterises them so much, and they began to find space in their opponents' defence to go on a 5-14 run. The Argentine connection was instrumental with 11 points from Deck and assists from Campazzo. The Madridistas started to believe and in less than five minutes they were back up by 14 points to 60-59.
 
Madrid fight until the end
It was all or nothing and only 10 minutes were left to determine who would triumph at the Bilbao Arena. The home crowd rallied behind their team to prevent Madrid from pulling off a comeback and the home side took an eight-point lead with four minutes remaining (72-64). But they once again came up against Deck (6 points) and Campazzo, who were determined to narrow the scoreline and bring it to 78-77 with a minute to go. Ultimately, Chus Mateo’s men were close to turning the game around and it was decided in the final moments of the game (83-79).
 
STATISTICS FROM SURNE BILBAO BASKET-REAL MADRID