A ninth consecutive league victory
81
-88
Hiopos Lleida
FinishedReal Madrid
Madrid win away at Hiopos Lleida in the third game of the week. Hezonja and Procida shine.
Real Madrid ended an intense week of three games in five days with another victory. Scariolo's players defeated Hiopos Lleida at Barris Nord in the 11th round of the Endesa League, securing their ninth consecutive win in the competition. After a very even first half in which each team won a quarter, our team had a strong final period to clinch the victory. Hezonja (20 points) and Procida (14) stood out.
Our team came out strong, going on a 0-10 run in the first four minutes of the game. The home team tried to close the gap from the perimeter, but Madrid countered with free throws (17-23; min. 8). Procida, with a three-pointer, and Maledon, with two points, gave their team a +9 lead at the end of the first period (19-28).
Maximum equality
Maledon and Llull took charge of maintaining the lead after an initial three-pointer from Oriol Paulí. Agada and Goloman (4 points each) reduced the gap to one point (35-36; min. 16).
Oriol Paulí managed to put Lleida ahead, but Hezonja scored 5 points in a row to keep us in the lead at half-time (43-46; min. 20).
Lleida turned the scoreboard around in the second half thanks to Mikel Sanz, who scored 7 points in a minute (55-50; min. 24). Hezonja stepped up to lead the charge and turn the situation around, and his 6 points plus baskets from Maledon and Llull did the trick (65-66; min. 29). However, in the last second, a technical foul allowed the home team to go into the final quarter one point ahead (67-66).
Procida, unstoppable from the three-point line
It was Procida who restored Real Madrid's lead at the start of the final quarter with 5 points. The forward was unstoppable from the perimeter (4/4 on three-pointers) and, together with Llull and Hezonja, put the lead at +8 (72-80; min. 36). Then Walden showed up to score 5 points in a row and keep the excitement going until the last minute (78-82). Our team's good zone defence prevented the opponents from closing the gap on the scoreboard and finally the Madridistas took the victory (81-88).