Real Madrid escapes the Gran Canaria rebellion
Mateo’s men get into the semifinals of the Endesa League on the fast track before going to the ‘Final Four’ of the Euroleague
MADRID, 17 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid qualified for the Endesa League semi-final playoff after eliminating Dreamland Gran Canaria in Las Palmas, the second and final victory for the whites (71-73) on the way to the title, before facing the defense of the Euroleague.
Chus Mateo’s men endured the rebellion of a ‘Granca’ who rowed to try to return the series to the WiZink Center and extend its season, with AJ Slaughter just a hair away from the winning basket at the buzzer. In the third quarter, the yellow team increased the intensity in defense and found the right way to stand up to its powerful rival, tied in a final that could have been canary.
Neither the team nor the Las Palmas fans seemed to have much faith in extending the series. It didn’t help the locals that the three-pointers, the fuse of the Canarian game, didn’t enter, and without a doubt Madrid was not an accessible rival again. The white team was a hammer and went into the break with the maximum until then (33-43), but in the locker room ‘Granca’ found faith and died with its head held high.
Between Facundo Campazzo and Edy Tavares, the best of the game in Madrid, the first quarter was away (18-25), although Gran Canaria remained standing with John Shurna. His drives to the basket were followed by Etahn Happ, but no one else dared to attack the opponent’s paint, despite the fact that Madrid soon went into bonus fouls in the second quarter. The locals at least equalized the score (31-33), but Mateo’s men escaped as if nothing had happened.
The Canarian triples did not enter and those from the capital, with the Argentine and the Cape Verdean again on the court, moved the ball at will to achieve that good cushion on the way to the locker room. Without a doubt, Jaka Lakovic’s team needed much more and in the restart they bit to try to avoid saying goodbye to the season.
Andrew Albicy returned scoring from three and, above all, the home team brought out the defense that the duel demanded. Tavares did damage on both rims, but Mateo gave him plenty of rest. Meanwhile, Miquel Salvó set that high bar back for Las Palmas and the emergence of Brussino tightened the score (58-58). That success of three abandoned the yellows in the last quarter, but ‘Granca’ put their heart and claw to survive the exchange of blows.
It took Madrid a world to score, despite the sparks of Mario Hezonja, and the scoreboard put AJ Slaughter in the hands of the triple to win the game. The Canarian season ended with pain while the white team continues from strength to strength, waiting for Barça or Lenovo Tenerife in the semifinals, and with their minds already on Olympiacos, the start of the Euroleague defense on Friday in Berlin.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: DREAMLAND GRAN CANARIA, 71 – REAL MADRID, 73. (33-43, at half-time).
–EQUIPMENT.
DREAMLAND GRAN CANARIA: Albicy (8), Kljacic (3), Brussino (14), Shurna (19) and Lammers (-) –starting quintet–; AJ Slaughter (3), Salvó (7), Happ (12), Bassas (5), Pelos (-).
REAL MADRID: Campazzo (10), Abalde (6), Musa (12), Yabusele (4) and Tavares (13) — the starting quintet –; Poirier (4), Hezonja (8), Llull (11), Sergio Rodriguez (2), Ndiaye (-), Rudy Fernandez (3).
–PARTIALS: 18-25, 15-18, 25-17, 13-13.
–REFEREES: Peruga Embid, Torres Sánchez and Martínez Silla. No eliminated.
–PAVILLION: Gran Canaria Arena.
2024-05-17 20:39:11
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