ACB day 25
UnicajaReal Madrid
Real Madrid is the leader of the ACB after beating Unicaja on their home field. In a match with a lot of pace and high flying, as is normal between the two best teams in the ACB today, both because of what the classification reflects and because of the regularity in their play, Chus Mateo’s team managed to win at the Martín Carpena . The overwhelming dominance of Madrid on the rebound, 42 for the Whites to 27 for Unicaja, partly explains the match, which the home team started badly – they lost by 11 points – but they knew how to turn it around based on pride, intensity in defense and outside shot. The triples in the third quarter managed to give life to Unicaja and the game, which was exciting until the end, tied with just over a minute left in the game. But in that final stretch, in which there was also room for a controversial play – a possible foul by Facundo Campazzo on Tyson Carter that was not signaled – Madrid was smarter, took the game and distanced Unicaja from the first position of the ACB.
Real Madrid came out ready to consolidate the leadership of the ACB, threatened only by Unicaja, who already beat them in the match played in November at the Wizink (93-99) and who aspired to take first place in the classification. Today, the two teams are the most consistent in the ACB, more solid than a Barcelona that lost again, this time at home against Breogán (85-88), the third Barça defeat in the last five games. The first quarter was dominated by Madrid with solvency thanks to the power on the rebound with Edy Tavares who acted as the usual beacon that he is in the white paint. A 10-20, the maximum distance in that initial quarter, forced Ibón Navarro to time out. Two unsportsmanlike actions by Madrid, one started thanks to the review requested by the Unicaja coach due to an action by Dejan Musa, allowed the Malaga team to hold on to the game (19-24 at the end of the first quarter).
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In the second quarter, more of the same. The second opportunities granted by Unicaja to Madrid, the rebounds – which in that period were already favorable to the whites by 14 to 4 -, and the ineffectiveness in the outside shot of Ibón Navarro’s team put the maximum on the scoreboard for Chus’s team. Mateo: 21-32 thanks to a basket by Gabriel Deck. But the actions of Tyler Kalinoski – a triple and a penetration by the American – sustained Unicaja. However, the general feeling was that Madrid had come into the game with their foot on the accelerator, with enormous rhythm and concentration. At half-time, Unicaja was behind (40-48) but the game was by no means close.
After the restart, Unicaja started scoring three-pointers, up to six in a row, three of them from Dylan Osetkowski. And in defense, they applied themselves with greater force. Everything to turn the score around and end the third quarter with a tie (64-64). A new party. In the final quarter, baskets by Yankuba Sima and Tyson Carter kept the locals going, while in Madrid the scoring was more distributed. Exchange of blows, maximum equality for both teams (both had maximums of only 4 points over their rival during the quarter).
In these with 74-78 on the scoreboard for Madrid thanks to a textbook pick and roll between Facundo Campazzo and Vincent Poirier, Unicaja reacted. A foul in the triple against Kalinoski, who made all three shots, brought the locals closer again. With 1:09 left, Dejan Musa achieved a 2+1 that equalized (81-81). From there Madrid was stronger. A missed triple by Taylor for Unicaja and then a great play by Campazzo that served an alley oop to Tavares, put the whites ahead. And the last one, a controversial play, in which Madrid’s Argentine point guard went to the limit of fouling Carter, who fell to the hardwood while playing the ball in attack, and Deck ended up increasing the advantage on the counterattack. The play, much protested by Ibón Navarro, was the penultimate of the game. Perhaps already unfocused, Kravish lost the ball in the last one, when Unicaja was desperately looking for a triple to get closer. The last one, by Campazzo, put the final score at 81-87. Real Madrid is like that, more of a leader.
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2024-03-17 23:24:51
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