The first defeat of the season, Sunday's against Unicaja, almost like a necessary evil, was only an incentive for RealMadrid, a twist to the intensity of their path.. And Alba Berlin, the bottom of the Euroleague, paid the price on WiZink. A match that was a walk in the park because the whites took it almost as an affront, even though, as Chus Mateo complained, they needed to “get one more speed”. Even so, despite the “lower pace”, there are already nine career wins in the Euroleague, a wonderful dawn for the champion. [99-75: Narration and statistics]
There was not even the slightest loophole to surprise, to a night of doubts. It is true that the rival was favorable. Israel González's Alba tries to compensate with daring and “unpredictable” (and sometimes chaotic) basketball for its lack of talent, forced to reinvent itself and juggle one of the most humble budgets in the competition. In WiZink, in addition, he appeared with four resounding losses: Matt Thomas, Sterling Brown, Louis Olinde and Justin Bean. So in the blink of an eye (with the masked Eli Ndiaye starting due to Yabusele's injury) it was already 13 down, with Hezonja in a destructive plan, Tavares dominating the rings and Campazzo adding and adding assists, one of them, pure magic, under the legs of a rival.
Until the break, Madrid's piston slowed somewhat, even without Dzanan Musa, its offensive thickened, the world champion Thienmann became brave in the paint and only another three-pointer from Hezonja extended the maximum somewhat. But Alba was still alive.
Hezonja crushes against Alba, on WiZink. EFE
There were also no fireworks in the Palace when we returned from the locker room, a bland pace and a Madrid that could not achieve fluidity, that only advanced with individual spurts, with Alba at a distance that was not definitive and in which the class of Procida. And Musa and his repertoire appeared for the first time, an ace up Chus Mateo's sleeve, a luxury in that well-armed squad that, so far, has not received any major disappointments in the form of injuries.. Only in the third quarter, the Bosnian forward scored 11 points, joining a party led, as always, by Campazzo and his basket passes, a recital, 13 in the 23 minutes he was on the court (10 in 16 for Chacho).. Bases spreading joy.
The victory came under its own weight, an exchange without too much tension, almost as if it were a preseason match. The distance was too great to maintain the strength and Real Madrid is having difficulties with the calendar. Hezonja finished with 26 points (30 is his maximum), five of six in three-pointers, and the whites won, as is tradition, against Alba Berlin: the balance in the Euroleague amounts to 19-2.
The 10th day of the Euroleague left one of lime and another of sand for the other Spanish teams. Valencia Basket, which has lost its last four games, fell in Athens against Panathinaikos (90-73). Barcelona, despite the losses of Vesely and Jokuibaitis, obtained a very worthwhile victory in Belgrade, against Maccabi and its forced exile (90-92, with 23 points from Laprovittola). On Friday it is Baskonia's turn, who host Monaco at the Buesa Arena (8:30 p.m.).