The proper names of 2023 (VI)
Madrid
Updated Thursday, December 28, 2023 – 22:18
Real Madrid conquered the Euroleague in Kaunas after a true gymkhana of astonishments crowned with the Balearic’s top shot: super key injuries and an impossible tie against Partizn
Llull and the final basket against Olympiacos.EFE
Sergi, do you want her? The question had an obvious answer, but in that frenzy of pounding heartbeats, Chus Mateo I did not hesitate to say it in the timeout before one of the great heroics in the history of the Euroleague. But before Sergi Llull would take, as it could not be otherwise, the responsibility of the final play, it is advisable to rewind. Real Madrid’s Eleventh Euroleague was perhaps the most amazing of all. A few weeks before the feat at the Zalgirio Arena, no one would have risked a fortune for a team that had to come back from an impossible tie against Partizan. Zeljko Obradovic and that he had just starred in one of the most regrettable and violent tanganes in memory.
Let shame not confuse. Without the fight, we would have also come back against Partizn, he said these days Vincent Poirier what no one can know. The truth is that the whites traveled to Belgrade with a 0-2 deficit never before raised and with a string of sanctions from both teams that ended up harming the inexperienced Serbians even more. The comeback of comebacks, Partizón up 18 in the WiZink in the fifth against a Madrid that had tied the tie but seemed to die on the shore. And there I emerged Sergio Rodríguezveterans in the vanguard of the brave, as it had been Rudy Fernandez and as Llull was going to be: those who transmit how this works.
Madrid went into Kaunas basketball without the injured Gaby Deck and without the sanctioned Yabusele -the most violent of the fight in the Palace, with its brutal lock to Dante Exum-, with Bara waiting in the semifinals and with nothing to lose. Super than those of Jasikevicius and Mirotic and against Olympiacos he had even more epic to add, since no winner of a classic in the Final Four had subsequently won the European title. But, after all, there were 12 seconds left, a couple of minutes ago he was down by six, and the team Bartzokas insisted on trembling and giving opportunities to the insatiable wild group of Chus Mateo.
“The basket of my life”
12 seconds and in the time-out huddle, Mateo was trying to paint some order on his board. But Llull, who had accepted the challenge, was no longer listening. sac band Talker and the ball went to the Balearic Islands, who stopped time. He left without thinking too much for the giant fall (218 centimeters) and executed a parabolic, unforgettable, eternal, extremely high shot, which entered with 3.2 seconds left to put Madrid ahead and grant them an astonishing title. It is the basket of my life, of my career. This passes Mlaga’s team on the right (2014 Cup final). That one was closer to the end, but this one is about winning a Euroleague, something incredible, the hero Llull commented later, in the bowels of the Zalgirio Arena, between hugs and joy.
In the year one after Pablo Lasoin the signings of Dzanan Musa and Mario Hezonja, in that of the blank cup winner in the Badalona Cup against Unicaja, in that of the WiZink fight and the defensive zone against Partizón to come back, Chus Mateo raised an unsuspected Euroleague, pure vindication of a low-profile coach who endured the downpour of criticism and who had the most moving tribute from one of his pupils, to the point of bringing tears to his eyes. The MVP, without prior question, began his speech in English with a plea in favor of his technique. And his words were neither brief nor pretentious. Without prior question at the press conference, Edy Tavares spoke: My congratulations to Chus, who has suffered more than everyone so that we could achieve everything we have achieved. We are here because of him, because he has believed in us and he has had a lot of confidence. Many had to apologize, because there has been a lot of criticism. He is the boss, when you talk about Madrid, you have to talk about him. He deserves it more than anyone else because he is one of the best people I have ever met and he has known how to manage everything. Giant’s word.
The hangover from that Euroleague, from that Jordanian basket from Llull, was hard. Madrid, exhausted of strength and motivation, lost the ACB final against Barcelona. And yet, summer and the return of Facundo Campazzo After his failed NBA adventure and the brief intermediate step at Red Star, it was a shot of energy. An overwhelming start to the year, champion of the Super Cup, undisputed leader in Spain and Europe… A 2023 that surpassed its record of victories (72 at this point still with games to be resolved) and that raises the bar for the challenge of 2024 : win, 56 years later, two consecutive European Cups.
2023-12-28 21:18:40
#Euroleague #Llulls #Undcima #basket #eternity #Euroleague
