Madrid win in overtime to move one victory away from the league title

Real Madrid are one win away from their 38th league title. Our team beat Valencia Basket again at the Movistar Arena (Making it 31 consecutive home wins) to take a 2-0 lead in a final that is looking good for them. A second encounter in which Chus Mateo’s men had to counter the visitor’s accuracy from the three-point line and come back from 9 points down in the final quarter, showing their mental strength and another strong team performance (7 players in double figures in scoring and rating). A basket by Llull with 8 seconds to go took the game into overtime, where Feliz showed the path to victory. The series moves to Valencia for the third game and our team's first chance to lift the title (Wednesday, 9:15 pm CEST).

After a minute's silence for the death of Sergio Nieto, Real Madrid's first-ever member, the first quarter started brightly for the Madridistas before levelling off. The first five minutes saw them controlling the basics, such as defence and rebounding, and an attack that took advantage of one-on-one situations through Abalde and Hezonja, resulting in an 11-2 run. But their dominance faded. Credit must be given to Valencia Basket's accuracy from the three-point line, which, with the introduction of López-Aróstegui, Sestina and Costello, added seven points to take the lead in this quarter (22-25, min. 10).

A timely reaction
The visitors' accuracy from outside continued to mark the game for much of the second quarter, which was played at a frenetic pace by Valencia Basket, who took a 9-point lead in the 15th minute (29-38). Madrid did not despair and maintained their defensive intensity. The work by Garuba and Bruno Fernando was important in the response that would come later from Chus Mateo's men. Campazzo and Musa led an 8-0 run that stretched until the end of the first half. Five straight points from Hezonja turned the score around before the break, capping a 19-7 run (48-45).

The third quarter saw both teams attempt to impose their rhythm on the game. Unsuccessfully, however, as neither side was able to build a significant lead. An exchange of baskets left the score at 69-68 in the 30th minute. For our team, the points were shared between Abalde, Musa, Ndiaye and Bruno Fernando, while for Valencia Basket they came from Montero, Badio and Soriano.

The visitors started the final quarter better, with some good minutes from Reuvers inside and maintaining their huge accuracy from the three-point line (16 at that point). One from Montero and two from Costello opened up a gap at 73-82 in the 34th minute. Another tricky moment and another reaction from Madrid, based on grit, fight and the roaring encouragement of the Movistar Arena. Feliz, Campazzo (6 points in a row) and Tavares, with two defensive plays, brought our team back into the game at 87-88 with one minute to go. A free throw from López-Aróstegui put Valencia Basket two points ahead with 30 seconds to play. The ball went to Llull, and yet again, the captain did not miss. He held onto possession and went to the basket, scoring a lay-up that tied the game at 89 and forced overtime.

Feliz leads the victory
Madrid gave Valencia Basket no chance in overtime. They continued their positive momentum from the final quarter with the Dominican point guard playing a decisive role, as he did in the first game. Two three-pointers and two rebounds made the visitors' attempt to leave the Movistar Arena with a point futile. Hezonja and Tavares sealed a hard-fought 102-96 victory. If there is no fifth game, Real Madrid will have completed a perfect league campaign at home with a clean sweep of victories (21 wins in 21 games).

REAL MADRID-VALENCIA BASKET STATISTICS