By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid shut down Zaragoza 79 – 70 on the road in an ACB game two days before the EuroLeague playoff series against fellow Spanish side Baskonia Tuesday (23/4). The Blancos improved to 25-5 to remain atop of the standings.
Gabriel Deck (15 points) and Dzanan Musa (13 points) were Real Madrid‘s leading scorers. There was a lot of rotation by coach Chus Mateo as only three of his players spent more than 20 minutes on the floor ahead of Game 1 of the quarterfinals.
Dejan Kravic led Zaragoza with 17 points and six rebounds. His team dropped to 11-19.
After finishing the EuroLeague regular season with the first seed, defending champion Real Madrid will have homecourt advantage in the best-of-five series against Baskonia. The latter got their ticket to the quarterfinals by beating Virtus Bologna in the newly established Play-In tournament.
Unicaja beats Baskonia to continue top spot chase with Real Madrid
Baskonia lost on the road to Unicaja 95-91, staying behind the Top 8 with a 16-14 record, while the Malaga side remains at the top of the standings, tied with Real Madrid.
Tyson Carter led the winning team with 19 points, David Kravish followed with 17, Dylan Osetkowski added 16, Melvin Ejim contributed 13, and Kameron Taylor contributed 12.
Matt Costello stood out for Baskonia with 24 points, Tadas Sedekerskis added 16, and Markus Howard and Vanja Marinković scored 15 points.
Baskonia will move to play Real Madrid in the EuroLeague Playoffs next week, while Unicaja travels to Belgrade for the Basketball Champions League Final Four.
While Baskonia lost to one BCL finalist, Valencia defeated the other, taking down Lenovo Tenerife at home with a final score of 98-73.
Semi Ojeleye with 17 and Jaime Pradilla with 15 points led the way, while Damian Inglis added 13 and Jared Harper 11 points. Kyle Guy scored 21 points for the losing team, while Marcelinho Huertas had 10 and nine assists.
ACB League Round 30 results:
Manresa – Andorra 90-97
Breogan – Gran Canaria 70-77 OT
Palencia – Granada 83-91
Barcelona – Murcia 97-86
Zaragoza – Real Madrid 70-79
Joventut – Girona 96-90
Valencia – Tenerife 98-73
Bilbao – Obradoiro 72-75
Unicaja – Baskonia 95-91
Standings: Unicaja 25-5, Real Madrid 25-5, Barcelona 21-9, Valencia 19-11, Gran Canaria 19-11, Tenerife 19-11, Murcia 19-11, Manresa 17-13, Baskonia 16-14…