Euroleague: Baskonia Laso oppresses Madrid | Basketball | Sport

With an urgency brought on by the knowledge that they were being watched due to their less than regular starts, both Baskonia and Real Madrid took to the Buesa pitch with the intention of commanding their opponent, sticking their fingers into their opponent’s wounds and beginning the redemption that In professional sports, only victories come. The season has just begun, it is still very early, but neither Vitorians nor Madrid are an average team, and more is demanded of them than from others. For whites, this demand is multiplied. In the end, it was Baskonia who handled the madness of the final minutes best and won their second game.

Because they wanted to play the same game, and both teams know each other well, it turned out that the equality was maximum in the first half, which passed in fits and starts, although neither team managed to close the gap. Chus Mateo started with Llull at the helm, given the absence of Campazzo and Feliz, which was the most logical option, albeit giving Ratan-Mayes a few minutes to control the Menorcan phenomenon, but always with the hidden threat of fouls accumulating or the fatigue experienced in the first part of this it was not conspicuous.

So the minutes passed: Baskonia are more successful in their shots from the outside, but Madrid are strong on the rebound and under the baskets. Pablo Lazo’s men took a five-point lead in the second quarter with the introduction of Moneque, but Chus Mateo reacted calmly from the bench to keep his side from panicking. They failed defensively, managed to steal and ran decisively towards the opponent’s basket to return the game to the way it was at the beginning and which went into the break with a minimal advantage (36-35) for Baskonia.

The second half started the same way. With Ndiaye earning his place in Baskonia, hyperactive in attack and defence, his side achieved a narrow lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but Real Madrid once again poured everything into defense, forcing the Vitorian side to move one side to the other in search of a shot and exhausting possession of the ball in several actions. Tavares’ intimidation paid off and Madrid threatened to send the ball away after a 0–10 run to take a 46–52 lead on the scoreboard.

But as play went fitfully again, White’s source of scoring dried up for a few minutes, allowing Baskonia to come back 53-52 after a pair of errors by Ratan-Meyes. With this goal the wind changed again and Madridistas increased the score in their favor again. With seven minutes left, making predictions about the outcome of the match seemed risky. Musa’s three-pointer gave Madrid their maximum lead (56-62), but Howard responded in kind and Moneke scored later to keep the score within the minimum distance. Howard tied the game with another three, under five, and Sedekerskis’ bomb put the home team ahead again.

It was crazy in Buesa because no one gave up. Llull returned to the field for the final minutes. Hezonja hit a three, Moneke responded and Musa drew a technical foul on Howard (70-67) with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left. But Hezonja persisted with his threes and tied the game. As it happened, Howard wanted to be the hero and a half-turn basket made it 74-70 with 15 seconds left and Tavares couldn’t make it up with his return because Baskonia played smart, Moneke took and was fouled, made the shots and brought his team a second victory in the Euroleague, which further opened Madrid’s wounds.