Madrid beat Panathinaikos on a great night of European action

The WiZink Center was, once again, the setting for a major European fixture and was abuzz as Real Madrid beat Panathinaikos in the duel between the two most recent Euroleague champions. The replay of the last final in Berlin was a match of the highest physical and mental intensity, to which our team responded with a solid defensive performance, high three-point shooting (15/33) and two great quarters, the first and the third (55-39), reaching a maximum difference of 17 points. Campazzo (19 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds) led the team, in which Abalde (10 of his 13 points in the third quarter), Musa (15), Deck (11) and Tavares (17 PIR) also stood out.

Madrid get off to a spectacular start
Madrid took the initiative with a brilliant start, true to its basic principles: dominating the rebounding, defence, running and, this time, with great success from three-point range. With this level, even an opponent as powerful as Panathinaikos has difficulty stopping them. In the first five minutes, the Whites scored one triple per minute: two by Musa, one by Abalde, one by a booming Ndiaye and one more by Campazzo, who finished the quarter with 10 points and only one missed shot. We opened a gap in the scoreboard with a 19-5. Ataman moved his bench in search of solutions and found some respite in Sloukas, Papapetrou and Juancho Hernangómez, but Madrid's continuous rotations maintained the lead at the end of the first quarter (28-19).

Madrid held on and did not despair
But it was by no means easy. The pace of the game slowed down a lot in the second quarter. Panathinaikos opted for a more physical game and the refereeing trio had no clear criteria (the first foul in our favour came after 8 minutes). This circumstance and the drop in our outside shooting percentage allowed the Greeks to close the gap on the scoreboard, with Nunn and Lessort leading their offence. Despite everything, Madrid did not lose concentration and found answers in players such as Rathan-Mayes, Llull and Deck to keep the lead at half-time (43-38).

Panathinaikos came into the third quarter on fire, led by an inspired Nunn, but Madrid resisted fearlessly. Musa responded with 7 consecutive straight points without a miss, preventing the visitors from completing their comeback despite coming dangerously close (50-48, min.24). The Whites' solidity came to the fore: Tavares beat Lessort on both sides of the court, Campazzo made the best decisions, and Abalde had a great fourth quarter, scoring 7 of his 10 points in a 9-0 run that established the maximum advantage on the scoreboard (+17) (70-53, min.28).

Clear win
Panathinaikos refused to give up and kept pushing until the final whistle. Despite Nunn's determination, the Whites remained firm and did not let up. Campazzo, the best player of the game, added to every attack, while Tavares closed the zone with blocks. Madrid regained a 10-point lead and, in the last two minutes, knew how to handle it to secure an unassailable victory, their second in the Euroleague (90-86, min.36).

REAL MADRID-PANATHINAIKOS STATISTICS