Madrid (EFE).- A stellar Sergio ‘Chacho’ Rodríguez emerged in the last quarter to lead Real Madrid to victory, 98-94 against Partizán, after overcoming a deficit of 18 points, and getting a place in the Final to Four of Kaunas.
Madrid also made history by being the first team in the 17 rounds that were decided in the fifth game, including those against Olympiacos and Monaco, which overcame an adverse 2-0 start and at home.
The two teams came out with clear ideas and knowing what was at stake. Adam Hanga was the shadow of Kevin Punter and in Partizán it was an all against Edy Tavares as soon as he received the ball.
The defenses outweighed the attacks and the three-pointers were conspicuous by their absence, 0 of 2 for Madrid and 1 of 5 for Partizán. Ely Ndiaye, one of Chus Mateo’s surprises in the initial quintet, fought with energy and more than fulfilled.
However, everything went wrong at minute 7.30, when Tavares was whistled for the second personal. At the end of the first quarter, almost absolute equality for the score 22-23.
In the second act, Punter, two triples without a mistake at the start and another one at the end, and James Nunnally were the stars of a Partizan that dismasted a Real Madrid without options when Tavares was absent.
The partial of the second quarter is a perfect indicator of what happened, 17-32. If we add to that 6 of 7 three-pointers by the Serbian team players, for only 1 of 7 for Madrid, the 39-55 with which they reached the break I couldn’t miss anyone.
Madrid’s zonal defense as a specific resource is correct, but the team’s luck cannot be based on this tactic. Tavares was barely able to spend 2.30 minutes on the track when he was whistled by a dubious staff that unleashed the fury of Mateo who was penalized with a technique.
Nigel Williams-Goss directed with success and Dzanan Musa penetrated the rival zone with more pain than glory, but it was the lack of aim from the 6.75-meter arc that most penalized a Real Madrid that was fading according to reality of its limitations it was imposing itself on the scoreboard.
Madrid came out again in zone defense and Punter punished it with a new triple, extending the lead to 18 points, 41-59 (m.22).
Halfway through the game, only the heroic one remained as a solution and that was what Musa and Mario Hezonja put in, 46-59 (m.23.30). Helped by a triple from Hanga, 51-61 (m.24.30). Mathias Lessort’s fourth staff was another small silver lining at this point, immediately countered by Tavares’s fourth.
Another pull from Partizan, another triple, now from Zach Leday, and the score grew again for the Serbs, 56-72 (m.26.30).
But Madrid continued without throwing in the towel and a triple by Sergio Rodríguez lowered the difference to single digits, 66-75, after a long time. And three triple shots that Musa converted into a foul by Dante Exum on Rudy Fernández, who was injured, left the score at 69-76 at the end of the third act.
With 7 points behind, Madrid glimpsed a ray of hope in the final ten minutes. More when a ‘chachojugada’ tightened the score more, 71-76.
El Chacho, the true protagonist at the beginning of the last quarter, ignited the spark that was missing from the game so that the epic and the heroic joined hands, although it must be recognized that Hezonja’s three-pointer, 79-81 (m.33) helped a lot . And of course it was ‘Chacho’ -it couldn’t be another- who scored the tie at 81 with 6.16 minutes to go.
Madrid had risen 18 points behind before the delirium of the stands, although there was still a world ahead.
Sergio Llull, who had been diffuse, scored the triple that returned Real Madrid to the blue numbers, and then with a counter, 88-83 (m.36). Hezonja, with another triple, made it 91-86 while Partizán’s legs began to shake. Another triple by Llull at the limit of possession, made it 95-87 with 2.27 minutes remaining.
Madrid, seasoned in a thousand close finals, did not miss the opportunity and won the game 98-94, made history and qualified for the Final Four. El Chacho took out the tickets for Kaunas.
Datasheet:
98 – Real Madrid (22+17+30+29): Williams-Goss (10), Hanga (7), Musa (20), Tavares (12) and Ndiaye (4) – starting five – Causeur (3), Hezonja (13), Randolph (2), Sergio Rodriguez (19), Rudy Fernandez (0) and Llull (8).
94 – Partizan (23+32+21+18): Punter (28), Leday (9), Papapetrou (10), Smailagic (4) and Madar (5) -starting five-, Nunnally (9), Exum (16 ), Trifunovic (0) and Lessort (13).
Referees: Borys Ryzhyk (UKR), Olegs Latisev (LET) and Mehdi Difallah (FRA). Ely Ndiaye (m.31) and Alen Smailagic (m.32) were eliminated by five personal.
Incidents: Fifth and final matchup of the Euroleague playoff C played at the Palacio de Los Deportes (WiZink Center) in Madrid before 12,867 spectators. The Real Madrid players had to come out to say hello after entering the locker room entrance to the cheers of the fans.
Ricardo Molinelli
May 11, 2023
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El Chacho gets Real Madrid’s ticket for the Final Four
by EFE
Madrid (EFE).- A stellar Sergio ‘Chacho’ Rodríguez emerged in the last quarter to lead Real Madrid to victory, 98-94 against Partizán, after overcoming a deficit of 18 points, and getting a place in the Final to Four of Kaunas.Madrid also made history by being the first team in the 17 rounds that were decided in... Read More