Campazzo, from exhibition to exhibition and an unstoppable Real Madrid
Looking for formulas to stop the full-throttle locomotive that is Real Madrid at the beginning of the season, Virtus de Bologna went to WiZink, another team on a roll, with a proposal as different as it was attractive.. The candidate this time looked daring, Luca Banchi's basketball was happy and aggressive, but the whites have weapons, confidence and attitude to fleece anyone. And Facundo Campazzo (38 rating, flirting with the triple-double). There are already 16 career victories and a growing feeling of impregnability. [100-74: Narration and statistics]
If the last time in the WiZink, also in the Euroleague, Barça left Chus Mateo's team at 65 points, this time the black V, which had won five in a row in Europe, conceded 100. Ways to lose. Or to win. Any challenge seems good for Real Madrid, who found the best version of Edy Tavares, the one that had barely been seen so far this year, weighed down by that respiratory infection and also by a restless summer in which he played in the World Cup with Cape Verde, an entire country on your shoulders. His connection with Campazzo, the frenetic game that the Palace likes so much, reminiscent of those first stages of lasism, brought down the Italian proposal too soon, bewildered by the gale.
Because the Virtus started with full throttle. Banchi, the coach who amazed at the World Cup with Latvia, replaced Sergio Scariolo just a few days before the start of the season. And, with the same wickers, he has strung together a compact and confident group, rescuing the stylist Marco Belinelli, still decisive at 37 years old.. In the first three minutes he scored 16 points, a wild start, aggressive defense and no complexes. But the surprise effect was not going to last long.
In the next 15 minutes, he was barely able to contribute another 15 points, when Madrid had already recomposed itself and made the rival's hands tremble, who lost balls at an alarming rate.. “Defensively impeccable,” Mateo would say. First with the dominance of Tavares, who seems to recover that joy of yesteryear, that strength that made him the king of painting.. And then with a mix of defense and the electricity that Campazzo injected upon his return from the bench. Like a demon full of energy, the Argentine made Virtus stumble with his runs, his passes, his unstoppable pace. It was a partial 25-4 in the second act to lead by 18 (51-33). Between Facu and Tavares they had scored 31 points, with five assists for the point guard and five rebounds for the center.
It had been such a forceful move that upon returning those from Bologna already seemed like a rival without much desire to fight at all.. Surrendered to the logic of the superiority of a rival who received them with three consecutive triples to put the score at +23. He had kissed the canvas and was now trying to minimize damage. The third quarter lowered the overall volume. Although everything blew up again with the return of Campazzo after Chacho's fourth and a run of 2-12 (70-58, min. 32) that gave Virtus some hope, given over to the genius of Belinelli.
To complete the task, Madrid lacked consistency, a second half with more fangs, although there was never any danger of another victory to add to a streak that few saw coming. This early excellence. The day that Llull became the fifth highest assist in the history of the Euroleague (1,341 basket passes and counting…), the whites, who accelerated again in the finishing line thanks to Yabusele, are still at the top.