Top of the table. That's where Real Madrid have closed out this three-game week on the road. Our team got the better of Lenovo Tenerife on their own turf in the clash at the summit to pick up a fifth successive League win. Chus Mateo's side decided the game in the final quarter thanks to sublime shooting from three. Tavares (10 points and 17 PIR), Hezonja (15 and 12) were the big performers for the madridistas.
A hard-fought game was expected at the Santiago Martín between the two top teams in the championship, and it didn't disappoint. Despite it beginning as a low-scoring affair, every play was a battle. In the opening couple of minutes, Tenerife looked to take the initiative with the lively Guerra heavily involved in offense. But Chus Mateo's boys responded swiftly. Yabusele (5 points) and Tavares managed to carve out space near the hoop to lead the attack for the visitors. Up the other end, Abalde's defence with four rebounds, was crucial in shackling the Tenerife team as Madrid edged a tight opening period (15-16).
Good work off the bench
Hezonja came off the bench and hit two successive baskets, a warning of his intentions. But our opponents weren't about to roll over, showing great accuracy from the outside through Doornekamp, Fitipaldo and Salin. At 29-29 (minute 17), stepped it up a gear and began to open up a gap on the scoreboard. A Cornelie triple followed by another from Goss (7 points), alongside Poirier who really dragged the team along, sealed a decent lead at the break, 31-38.
Video.67-80: Victory to move top of the league
It was more of the same after the restart. Real Madrid looked to extend their advantage through Tavares (8 points and 2 blocks), but Tenerife pushed on too and Fitipaldo's pace saw them cut the deficit (38-42 on 23’). Then, Musa exploded with five points in a row to give his team some breathing space at +9. The end-to-end nature of the clash continued, as the hosts hit back once more. Huertas and Shermadini managed to drag our boys back to within their sights, making it 45-48. Chus Mateo's had to dig deep in defense to close out the third quarter at 45-50.
Real Madrid get their eye in
Top spot up for grabs, a five-point gap on the scoreboard and 10 minutes left to play. This huge game was going down to the wire. The madridistas knew what was at stake and quickly upped their accuracy from three. Five triples in a row set the Whites on the path to victory, with Cornelie, Hezonja and Causeur. Despite those impressive numbers from outside, Tenerife refused to give it up. Abromaitis, with 15 points and five rebounds, was spearheading the hosts' offense. But with three minutes to go, our team ran away from their opponents and continued to score with ease to come out on top in a tough encounter. Real Madrid put the icing of the cake on a tough three-game week away from the WiZink Center in Tenerife.
LENOVO TENERIFE-REAL MADRID STATISTICS
