/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/GANM3VGHWJFB7JL4MDWLQPX7ME.jpg "Real Madrid puts things in their place in Bologna | Basketball | Sports")
Euroleague working day 29
Real Madrid achieved mathematical classification for the Euroleague qualifiers in Bologna, and, incidentally, the favorable home field factor for when they arrive. It can be said that Chus Mateo’s team has kept up with its weekly tasks during the winter and faces spring with the advantage that this entails. In a match in which Causeur, Rudy and Sergio Rodríguez were missing, the whites managed with sufficient solvency to always maintain enough safety distance that allowed them to reach the final moments without struggling.
Under the influence of Yabusele, who had become an all-rounder, accurate in his shot, relentless on the rebound, Madrid’s game flowed, despite the fact that Facundo Campazzo did not feel comfortable with the close presence of Cordinier and Belinelli. The Italians failed to shoot during the first quarter, and that opened the gap on the scoreboard for the whites, which would remain stable in the following 20 minutes. The sparks of Hezonja or Musa neutralized the talent of Shengelia or Jordan Mickey.
The first half passed without any problems for the white team, which was channeling the task, sometimes without trying, just by waiting for errors in the launch of the Italian team, which was a disaster in that aspect, especially in the first quarter. , in which with less than three minutes remaining he had only scored six points. By then, Madrid’s advantage reached the limits by which it would move for the rest of the game, around ten points, a few more up, a few more down. A three-pointer from Sergio Llull was very far away, and at the buzzer 13 points before the break.
Virtus tried not to leave the game in the second half, although they did not always succeed. They got away from the path up to 16 points behind (35-51) following an outside shot by Yabusele, but Luca Banchi’s team redirected the situation to give hope to their stands, which vibrated in the final minutes with the push of Cordinier, who kept the flame alive for the Bolognese squad, which came within five points of Real Madrid with five minutes left, following an 8-0 run. But it was the moment in which Campazzo appeared, gray until then, well defended and who had starred in a skirmish with Cordinier in which both received a technical, and also Poirier, who completed some excellent numbers – 14 points, 8 rebounds – to put things in place, rebuild Madrid’s image and send his team directly to the playoffs for the title, following doing things very well during the regular phase.
Datasheet
Power Segafredo Arena.
Virtus: Zizic (8), Cordinier (12), Belinelli (9), Pajola (4), Shengelia (10) –inicial team–, Lundberg (11), Dobric (5), Lomazs (0), Mickey (11), Polonara (0), Dunston (4), Abass (0).
Real Madrid: Campazzo (10), Abalde (7), Musa (10), Yabusele (15), Tavares (6) –starting squad–, Hezonja (10), Alocén (27), Deck (), Poirier (14), Llull ( 8).
Partials: 15-23, 16-21, 21-17, 22-28.
Referees: Lottermoser, Nedovic y Udyanskyy.