Real Madrid pays for the excesses and the losses: lesson from an overwhelming Gran Canaria
The boasts, the comebacks, and the demand for a meaningless calendar pay off. The bill arrives sooner or later, and it appears that Real Madrid is now facing the consequences. Dreamland Gran Canaria did not show any mercy, as Jaka Lakovic’s team had the hunger and ambition to win. They showcased their best version and delivered a stunning blow to an exhausted rival. The final score was 100-77.
Real Madrid had been anticipating the review of the year in Gran Canaria, just a short distance away from where the football team had made a comeback in Las Palmas. This game had all the ingredients for a challenging match – a determined opponent and a heavily burdened squad. Along with the demanding schedule in January, this review will soon be forgotten. Moreover, it is a bad time for a crisis, especially with the Cup approaching.
Chus Mateo arrived in Las Palmas with only 10 players, as he couldn’t even rely on the youth players. Hugo González and Ismaila Diagné, who are usually present, were occupied with the ANGT qualifying phase. Edy Tavares and Sergio Llull were already out due to injuries, while Yabusele and Hezonja were also unavailable. The interior rotation was limited to Poirier, Ndiaye, and Deck. Granca, led by Lakovic, did not miss this opportunity.
Ethan Happ
One cannot disregard the fact that Gran Canaria has a strong team capable of competing with anyone. They are seeded for the Malaga Cup, where they are set to face Valencia in the quarterfinals. Additionally, they hold second place in their Eurocup group, a competition they triumphed in last year. Choosing not to participate in the Euroleague seems to have been a wise decision, given their current success. They demonstrated their strength with an intense performance, raining down triples and dominating the paint with Ethan Happ, as Madrid failed to provide any opposition.
By the halfway mark of the second quarter, the loss had become historic (46-21). Chus Mateo searched for impossible combinations to stop the storm, even resorting to playing Abalde as a power forward and having Campazzo and Chacho (the standout players for Madrid) on the court simultaneously.
Unfortunately for Madrid, things did not improve much in the second half, despite their efforts to narrow the gap. They managed a 0-10 run at the end of the third quarter (75-60) led by Rudy, but Gran Canaria responded even more forcefully. They unleashed a flurry of triples (finishing with a remarkable 15 out of 27, with nine coming from Bassas, Shurna, and Slaughter), bringing their total score to 100 points with ample time remaining and a commanding 30-point lead. This is the first time this season that Real Madrid has scored so much in the Endesa League. In the Euroleague, only Fenerbahçe and Efes achieved similar scores, although both games went into overtime.
This loss marks the third defeat for Real Madrid in the ACB, the second in their last three games, and the sixth across all competitions. “Gran Canaria played exceptionally well. We couldn’t find any solutions or energy,” admitted Mateo, who is desperately seeking ways to recover key players for the upcoming challenges, including a doubleheader in the Euroleague this week.