With the precedents of qualifying rounds at the limit between Madrid and Baskonia, the first duel won in significance. And the whites took him with a blow of consistency and success in the second halfin which Causeur was key (16 points and a PIR of 21) in the demarcation embodied in a 15-0 start (59-42). The azulgranas may have suffered from fatigue because on Monday they were in Valencia playing for the pass to this semifinal, although they endured the rebounding battle without giving up. They weighed down their 16 losses after a good local defense and the ferocity of the merengue success in the triples: 17 goals with 50%, and without bases, with Juan Núñez (4 assists) 14 minutes on the court. Very good numbers from Tavares (12+13 for 24 credits) and not so good by Hangabut a very positive influence on his team.
That Abalde was between cottons due to an injury on one foot did not look good for Madrid. That he couldn’t play was even worse. And that Llull went to the locker room on the run (although he later returned to the bench) due to discomfort in the adductor muscles of his right leg andra the lace to the meringues problems in the base position. Hanga had also committed two quick fouls. To the list add that Alocén and Williams-Goss do not count due to injury and Heurtel due to technical punishment, so minutes for Juan Núñez. And it is that there is an unwritten law for coaches that says that if there is a player with little prominence in the squad, it will be necessary when the sun is hottest. The youth squad, who turns 18 on Saturday, was good in his first appearance, very focused. He tried to break penetration to assist inside or outside and thus added his first three basket passes.
When Llull left the court, Madrid was +6 (19-13) after the captain made three triples. Then Rudy appeared. Both teams, who had started without scoring one (0 out of 9 out of three), quickly calibrated their sights and, with those bursts of hits (15 three-pointers in the next 15 minutes, until halftime), the duel progressed with several ups and downs. From the tie at 25 to 35-28 and then to 44-42 at the break. Baskonia applauded Marinkovic’s irruption while answering the seven local offensive rejections of the first quarter with nine catches in someone else’s hoop in the second act. And Baldwin was also showing up.
There was a pulse, the same one that broke Madrid after the restart with three and a half fantastic minutes, in which without a clear base he broke with defense, rebound, speed and accuracy: Hanga, Causeur, Deck… And inside, Yabusele and Tavares. A 15-0 (59-42) that put to the test what Granger told us in the previous one, the Baskonia ability at this end of the course to recover in adversity. And he partially remade himself with his very plugged-in shooting centers, Alec Peters and Costello. The latter’s aim annoyed Laso and Poirier took the anger in a timeout for defending him. Nevertheless, Causeur was still there, sublime in the third period: 14 points without fail so (4 out of 4 out of three) and 18 PIR. Neven Spahija’s men came within eight (74-66) in the final quarter, but the whites responded with genius back and forth, with another barrage of triples: Yabusele, Taylor, Hanga… On Saturday, more, second assault.