By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid turned a close game into a rout in the second half and defeated Baskonia 94 – 84 to take a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-five semifinal series of the Spanish ACB League.
Fabien Causeur scored 14 out of his team-high 16 points in the third period for Real as his team entered the quarter with a 15 – 0 run to go up 59 – 42. Baskonia trimmed that margin to eight (74 – 66) but Real delivered 11 unanswered points and went ahead 89 – 68 with four minutes to play. All that the visiting side could do was reduce that deficit with consecutive buckets down the stretch.
Rudy Fernandez dropped 14 points while Edy Tavares posted 12 points and 13 rebounds for Real that hit 17-34 3-pointers. Alec Peters led Baskonia with 15 points and Matt Costello finished with 12 points plus six rebounds.
Game 2 takes place in Madrid Saturday (4/6).