Madrid, Feb 23 (EFE).- Real Madrid achieved a resounding and healing victory against Zalgiris by 96-69, with which to make a “clean slate”, in the words of their coach Chus Mateo after the Cup fiasco King.
Real Madrid came out wanting to vindicate themselves and their game in front of their fans, but they found a Zalgiris inspired by the outside shot that made their first three three-point shots.
Isaiah Taylor, Rolands Smits and Ignas Brazdeikis made the players of the Spanish team shake in the legs, despite the good start of the Argentine Gabriel Deck.
Until the Cape Verdean Walter ‘Edy’ Tavares began to dominate under the basket, Madrid suffered, to later balance the game and the score with Nigel Williams-Goss playing one of the best games of the season.
The first quarter ended with 22-24 and it was at the start of the second when Madrid began to make a difference with a 17-3, 39-27 run in the first 5 minutes.
And all this without triples, because Chus Mateo’s players scored 2 of 7 in the first twenty minutes.
Sergio Rodríguez, Dzanan Musa, Guerschon Yabusele, Mario Hezonja and Vincent Poirier were in charge of putting land in the middle of the scoreboard, against a Zalgiris that, stopped by Brazdeikis by the active local defense, began to dissolve like a sugar cube.
A 6-0 start in the first 2 minutes of the third act, 59-38, further increased the feeling of Madrid dominance, against a Zalgiris that beyond their aim from the goal showed almost nothing.
In the 25th minute, the lead grew to 25 points, 68-43, with Tavares dominating and the Lithuanians beginning to wage war each on their own.
The end of the third quarter with 76-52 on the scoreboard left the victory decanted to Real Madrid.
Despite everything, Chus Mateo’s players tried not to lower the game’s piston too much to give away and give themselves a resounding and healing victory by 96-69.
– Datasheet:
96 – Real Madrid (22+31+23+20): Wiliams-Goss (12), Causeur (0), Deck (12), Cornelie (9) and Tavares (16) – starting five – Rudy Fernandez (5) , Hezonja (4), Sergio Rodriguez (4), Poirier (11), Yabusele (6) and Musa (17).
69 – Zalgiris Kaunas (24+14+14+17): Taylor (8), Hayes (4), Smits (7), Brazdeikis (16) and Ulanovas (3) -cinco initial-, Giedrairis (2), Lekavicius ( 8), Birutis (5), Polonara (2), Dimsa (6), Lukosiunas (0) and Butkevicius (8).
Referees: Robert Lottermoser (ALE), Joseph Bissang (FRA) and Eduard Udyanskyy (GBR). No deleted.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-fifth day of the regular phase of the Euroleague basketball played at the Palacio de los Deportes (Wizink Center) in Madrid before 7,783 spectators. A minute of silence was observed in memory of the former honorary president of Real Madrid, Amancio Amaro, and former player Jesús Pascual.
Ricardo Molinelli
