Defeat in the Super Cup final

Real Madrid were beaten by Unicaja Malaga in the 2024 Spanish Super Cup final, played at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia. Chus Mateo's team were forced to overcome an initial 17-point deficit during the first quarter. They were able to do so before the break after 10 excellent minutes, but in the second half, they missed a little more continuity in offence to complete a heroic comeback. Our team's top scorer was Campazzo, with 19 points.

Unicaja got off to a better start than Real Madrid, who were forced to row against the tide following a 5-21 deficit, dominated by three-pointers from Perry and Taylor. In the absence of Hezonja, a last-minute withdrawal, Garuba took his place in the starting line-up. But it wasn't until Deck was brought on that our team began to react. Along with Campazzo, they provided more aggression in defence and brought more speed to the attack. He was responsible for 14 of the team's 19 points (19-32, min.10).

The team looking at its best
Madrid stepped up a gear in the second quarter. They played with pride and dramatically turned the tide of the game. Unicaja's confidence began to wane as our team became much more aggressive in defence, cutting off the passing lanes and slowing down the opposition's transitions. Llull assumed the responsibility and led the team with 8 points initially. At 30-44 in the 16th minute, Chus Mateo‘s team delivered a strong blow with a 13-0 run. Eli and Deck's work in the paint and Musa and Tavares' work in the scoring was key. Madrid won the quarter 26-17 and Unicaja went into the break four points ahead after two baskets from Taylor (45-49).

Unicaja's game plan was to make the game even tougher. This unsettled Madrid a little, as they had to deal with continuous contact that sent our players to the floor, stoppages, review of plays... Ibon Navarro's team became more comfortable with the situation, and again took a 14-point lead in the third quarter. The introduction of Feliz, Abalde and Garuba provided our players with freshness and with an 8-0 run we managed to reduce the deficit to 63-68 in the 30th minute.

The final push wasn't enough
Unicaja were always able to find a way to stave off the Madrid comeback. On this occasion it was the offensive rebound at the start of the final period to stay 9 points up (63-72, min.32). This didn't stop our team from continuing to fight, however, and when the odds are toughest, the team grows the more. Giving everything in a highly tense atmosphere, the team hit back with a 10-2 run thanks to the drive of Garuba, Feliz and Llull to make the score 73-74 with four minutes to go. But the storyline was repeated and the Malagueños extended their lead once again thanks to several three-pointers in a row and small bursts of play that denied us the chance to lift yet another Super Cup (80-90, min.40).