Madrid will aim to secure a Final Four spot in the fourth playoff game

Real Madrid could not seal their spot in the Final Four of the EuroLeague after losing the first playoff match held at the Arena Botevgrad. Hapoel Tel Aviv managed to take a 2-1 lead in the series in Bulgaria, where our team will have another chance to secure qualification on Thursday (8:00 pm CEST). Lyles (14 points and a performance index rating of 17) and Deck (11 points and 7 rebounds) were the standout players for the madridistas during the game.

Real Madrid started better than their opponent, with a highly alert Len on the rebounds, and an initial 0-7 run. Both teams understood the complexity of the match, and the scoring pace was low. Micic scored Hapoel's points, which were not enough to surpass our team on the scoreboard (4-10; min. 6). However, Motley and Bryant appeared to level the game (10-10), although the madridistas responded with precision from the perimeter through Feliz, Deck and Lyles (18-21; min. 10).

Garuba, Deck and Maledon secured the largest lead of the game so far for Madrid at the start of the second quarter with a +9 (21-30; min. 14). The team showed solid defense and gave little ground to the opponent to continue increasing the lead, but the Israeli team managed to turn the result around with an 11-0 run thanks to their accuracy from the free-throw line (7 points). Only a three-pointer by Hezonja in the last minute prevented the home team from going into halftime with the lead on the scoreboard (34-36).

Hapoel's Reaction
Despite the three-pointer by Okeke after the break, the home team managed to make it 43-40 in the game (min. 25). Offensive fouls and the opponent's strong defense were preventing our team from scoring, something that Micic, Bryant, and Oturu took advantage of to achieve a +12 lead after a 16-0 run. Lyles and Feliz, with 4 points, managed to narrow the gap before the end of the third quarter (55-46; min. 30).

Our team falls short of a comeback
The final quarter began with a three-pointer by Lyles and another basket by Deck to bring the team back into the game (55-51). Defense was crucial to secure the win, and both teams adhered to this principle. Deck, from the perimeter, reduced the opponent's lead to +1, but Blakeney, Oturu, and Bryant pulled away again with a 6-0 run (65-58; min. 37). Ultimately, our team could not complete the comeback and will look to secure their place in the Final Four this Thursday in the fourth game of the series (76-69; min. 40).

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.