Victory to move top

Real Madrid put aside the EuroLeague playoffs, the third round of which will take place next Wednesday in Vitoria, to record their 26th victory in the league against Monbus Obradoiro. Chus Mateo's charges capitalised on their large squad (Musa, with 17, led six players in double figures in PIR)., overcoming the fatigue caused by their third game in six days, and managed a hard-fought win in the final stretch against a team that fought hard throughout the game. The Whites are now leaders with the Lenovo Tenerife-Unicaja game, postponed to Wednesday 1 May, still to come. Sergio Rodríguez and Deck were rested for the clash.

Madrid stepped on the accelerator as soon as they took the court. They were clinical in attack, with 6 three-pointers out of 8 attempts and 5/7 in two-point shots, and they imposed a blistering pace. Musa (11 points) and Causeur (7) were the star performers in the first quarter. However, the Galicians were not intimidated and thanks to the offensive rebound (6) and the scoring by Scrubb (9), they maintained the parity. A Madrid run in the final stretch of the first 10 minutes, doubling Monbus Obradoiro on the scoreboard (16-8), gave the Whites an 8-point lead (28-20, min.10).

Ups and downs
In the second quarter Madrid experienced an attacking slowdown. After more than five minutes without scoring, the visitors, with a 7-point run led by Zurbriggen, went one up after 15 minutes. Madrid were still on the back foot. They regained their intensity at times at the back and with the introduction of Llull and Poirier, who was a dominant centre in the zone (7 points), once again opened up a seven-point gap. But the Galicians did not surrender and hit two three-pointers to bring the score to 38-37 before the interval.

Monbus Obradoiro came out with more energy and concentration in the third quarter. Scrubb and Blazevic continued to pose a problem for Madrid. The Whites' low percentage from the free throw line was also a concern. Seven points from the small forward with a British passport helped his team to a 6-point lead with 41-47 in the 24th minute. The madridistas were struggling to find the hoop and added points occasionally from well-worked second options and involving Tavares in the midst of the play. His tenacity and work on offensive rebounds offset the opposition's momentum. The end of this period turned into a battle to determine who could take the lead into the final quarter. In the end it was Madrid, who took five points after a 7-2 run with 5 points from Yabusele (61-56, min.30).

Madrid set up to win
Monbus Obradoiro were playing well, standing their ground and fighting for the game and for survival. But it was a question of patience and Madrid showed it at the right time. They raised the level of aggression in the last quarter and gradually mitigated the visitors' threats, especially the offensive rebound. Tavares was a key presence at both ends of the court, and he played a big part in this. He ran more effectively and several players entered the attack. Madrid did not let the Galician team get back into the game. Llull, Yabusele, Hezonja and Causeur spearheaded Madrid's best minutes and with an 18-13 run in this period they sealed the victory with two minutes to go (79-69, min.40).