The Euroleague leaders beat Virtus Bologna and secure their place in the playoffs.

Real Madrid are through to the Euroleague playoffs. With five games left to play, Chus Mateo's side are the first to do so after beating Virtus Bologna away from home on one of the most difficult courts in this edition of the competition. The leaders showed their most solid version, dominating from the first quarter, and overwhelmed the home team's attempts to react. With this 23rd victory we equalled our best Regular Season (2016/17 and 2022/23). Yabusele, with 23 PIR, led a great collective game, where Campazzo, with 10 points in the last quarter, and Poirier (24 PIR) were decisive at the end. 

The leaders were met with a spectacular atmosphere at the Segafredo Arena. An almost impregnable stronghold this season. Only two teams had won there. Now there are three after Madrid's visit. Virtus did not speculate with their direct game and short possessions, but they came up against some very solid Madrid defenders, who held Belinelli and Shengelia in check, and in defensive rebounding, with great work from Yabusele (7 points and 3 rebounds) and Tavares. The Frenchman came in with a lot of energy and was unstoppable in attack, where Abalde also stood out (5 points). Seven consecutive points from him led a 0-9 run, which allowed us to take a clear lead in the first quarter with an advantage of close to 10 points (15-23, min.10).

Madrid quell the home reaction
The home side tried to put in some extra speed to overcome Madrid's defence. They improved in attack with Lundberg and Dunston on the court. However, Chus Mateo's team showed great concentration in the second quarter. They controlled their turnovers well and did not give their opponents any second chances with some solid rebounding work. Alocén played had some great spells in defence and, between Llull and Deck, they widened the gap to 19-32 in the 25th minute. Virtus clung to Cordinier's drive and Zizic's points in the zone to get closer. But they did not trouble the leaders who, when the Italians pressed the hardest, always had the resources to respond through Musa and the captain. His trademark three-pointer, from a tight angle and just under the roof of the pavilion, closed the first half with a significant difference in our favour (31-44).

Madrid did not give in to the more physical approach taken by Virtus in the third quarter. The pressure exerted by the Italians reached its peak, with Belinelli and Shengelia leading the way. But the team kept calm and circulated the ball well in attack. Yabusele once again pulled our team back into the lead, omnipresent on both sides of the court, to reach a 16-point advantage, which at the end of the period was reduced to 9 points after a Bolognese surge (52-61, min.30).

Campazzo makes the difference in the last quarter
Virtus stretched the game to the limit with very high intensity and aggressiveness, which brought them to within five points in the 35th minute (64-69). Until then, it had been Hezonja, with two three-pointers, who had been in charge of counteracting the Italians' progress. With the Segafredo Arena proving to be pressure cooker and an opponent believing in a win, the great Madrid of this season emerged, a team effort with one protagonist above the rest: Campazzo. The Argentine took the reins and did so with tremendous superiority. He scored 10 points in the final stretch and participated in as many others, assisting Poirier time and again, who had a great game in the paint and ended up being the most valued player of our team. In the last five minutes, we achieved a spectacular and definitive 10-20 run to secure our tenth away win and equal our highest number of away wins in the Regular Season (74-89, min.40).

VIRTUS BOLONIA-REAL MADRID STATISTICS