Madrid wins in Vitoria and is still unbeaten away from home in the league

Real Madrid's unbeaten away record in the league continues after seeing off Baskonia at the Buesa Arena. Chus Mateo's side claimed their eighth consecutive away win, their 16th in total in this competition in 17 games, to bring a spectacular first half of the season to an end. The leaders came through a very tough test, particularly after Friday's historic match. Their blistering start, with 35 points and a +15 advantage in the first quarter, opened the way to a win in which Yabusele (26 points, with 6 three-pointers), Musa (20) and Campazzo (20) excelled. Llull tied Felipe Reyes as the player who has played the most games in the history of Real Madrid (1,046).

Hardly a trace of fatigue after Friday's four overtimes. Madrid stormed out of the blocks at the Buesa Arena, producing a high level of basketball with a great attacking-defensive balance. Forcing Baskonia to shoot from distance without success, they controlled the rebound and read the opposition's defence to perfection. In front of the hoop, they put on a show with eight three-pointers, hitting 66% of them, under the leadership of a superb Yabusele. The Frenchman scored 17 points (4 three-pointers) in the first quarter of his team's 35 points. Musa, scoring another eight points and four rebounds, followed him to reach a lead of up to 18 points (17-35, min. 10).

Containment 
Madrid went into an offensive slump in the second quarter. In contrast to the first 10 minutes, Madrid lacked fluency. They lacked flow, stopped scoring three-pointers, and were unable to control the rebounding. The entry of Chiozza and Moneke saw an improvement in the performance of the hosts, who began to score more freely. Several flashes of quality from Campazzo (he has now made the ninth appearances amongst foreigners, 511, after overtaking Hervelle), Musa and the fifth triple from Yabusele (20 points in the first half), cancelled out the opposition's rally and left the scoreboard at 43-51 at half-time.

Baskonia kept on pressing in the second half thanks to the fact that they were able to rush the pace of the game and punish Madrid's defensive balance. The leaders held on from 6.75 metres with three-pointers from Musa, Yabusele (setting a personal record with his sixth) and Alocén, but their lack of precision in attack was taken advantage of by the home side to pull to within four points at 64-68 (min. 28). Under heavy pressure, our team showed their best. The defence, with Causeur performing well, and Musa as the offensive focal point, led to a reaction in the form of a 2-8 run to take a 10-point lead going into the final quarter.

A flawless Madrid
The leader needed to be ready for the fight because Baskonia was not about to roll over and even less so in front of their own fans. Chus Mateo's men made a last-ditch effort. To their credit, they never allowed their opponents to get back into the game. They kept their focus and played with patience and composure. Poirier stepped up in the paint, and in attack the team showed its repertoire, first with Hezonja, and then with Campazzo and Llull, who scored 10 points (five apiece) to clinch a well-deserved win that was close to 100 points (85-99, min. 40).