Murcia, Feb 12 (EFE).- Real Madrid will appear in the Copa del Rey that will be played next week in Badalona as the leader of the Endesa League, after winning 80-88 at the UCAM Murcia Club Basketball court in a game in which the locals complained about the refereeing to the point that they put up a blackboard where they updated the number of free throws taken by one and the other team, which went as far as 1-29 in favor of the whites (12-33 at the end).
The team led by Chus Mateo, now with 17 wins and three losses, prevailed with 18 points from Edy Tavares and 16 from Mario Hezonja in a match that ended with a 6-29 run between the final stretch of the first half and the second half. beginning of the second.
UCAM CB, for its part, suffered its fifth defeat in the last six rounds and with a record of 8-12, is now thirteenth and continues two victories away from the places that allow it to play the qualifying rounds for the title, which is its objective. .
The match was faced by the Murcian team after having spent three days in Turkey this week to not play -their match against Darüssafaka Lassa was postponed due to the earthquake that hit that country and also Turkey- and without Jordan Davis among those called up, which he calls attention, because the guard lost all the prominence he had not long ago and seems to not have the full confidence of his coach, Sito Alonso.
Madrid, who appeared in Murcia with the casualties of Rudy Fernández and Alberto Abalde, started better and led in the early stages (3-10 after a three-pointer from Hezonja).
The university team, with a run of 11-2, finished off with a triple by Ryan Luther, turned the score around (14-12) and the first quarter ended with the score tied at 20 and with Gaby Deck leading the white attack with six points followed with the signature of the Argentine.
The equality was maintained in the second period, in which Artem Pustovyi was especially effective and 14 points from the Ukrainian had his team ahead (32-30).
The power of Tavares was evident in the moments before the break and that led to the halftime with the visitors eight points up (32-40), their maximum advantage until then, which came with a basket on the horn of the Cape Verdean that kept open a run of 0-10 facing the second half.
The gap widened even more at the start of the second half with a 0-7 start that brought the set to 0-17 with which the Whites clearly set their path to victory.
Sito Alonso stopped it with a timeout at 32-47 but the situation did not improve (38-59 after a triple by Nigel Williams-Goss in the middle of the third quarter).
Two three-point baskets made by James Anderson in just half a minute made Mateo react, who was the one who called his team to order despite the fact that the difference was still 15 points.
That phase of inspiration gave the locals to continue getting closer (49-61), although the quarter ended with a +16 for Madrid (55-71).
This difference was also influenced by the difference in free throws taken, so much so that a blackboard was placed next to the local bench counting them.
Based on triples, with Sadiel Rojas and Tomás Bellas plugging in from beyond the arc, the university team got to 10 (67-77) and pressed until the end, but the fouls continued to be less striking and certainly updated by Sito Alonso himself on the blackboard. The last 11 shots from 4.60 for the home team came with the clash already resolved, which is often the case.
– Token:
80. UCAM Murcia Club Basketball (20+12+23+25): Bellas (13), McFadden (7), Anderson (13), Luther (3) and Diop (-) -starting five-, Trice (3), Radovic (10), Pustovyi (20), Jelínek (6) and Rojas (5).
88. Real Madrid Basketball (20+20+31+17): Williams-Goss (7), Henzonja (16), Musa (10), Yabusele (11) and Tavares (18) -starting five-, Causeur (3) , Hanga (2), Sergio Rodríguez (9), Deck (8), Poirier (2), Cornelie (-) and Llull (2).
Referees: Fernando Calatrava Cuevas, Vicente Bulto Estebanez and Hector Baez Batista.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twentieth day of the Endesa Basketball League played at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia before 7,500 spectators who filled it. Before the start of the meeting, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the thousands of victims caused by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
During the break, Madrid paid tribute to José Luis Mendoza, who was president and owner of UCAM CB and who died several weeks ago at the age of 74, a victim of cancer. The white club gave María Dolores García, his widow, a team shirt with the inscription JL Mendoza and signed by the members of the squad.