By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Pierria Henry had a career night in the EuroLeague and led TD Systems Baskonia to the big 76-63 win over Real Madrid.
With the score being 58-54 in favor of the hosts, Henry scored eight straight points to give a ten-point advantage (66-56) and keep the guests at a distance.
There was no coming back for Madrid after that with Henry finishing the game with 23 points, six assists, two steals, and no turnovers.
“I feel like it was a team effort”, said Henry after the game, sharing the credit with the rest of the team. “Everybody is valuable, everybody is just as important, everybody just gave their all, playing strong, sticking together through adversity, sticking to the game plan, so I have to thank my teammates for trusting in me and coach for coming up with a good game strategy. We are getting better every day, focusing on every possession and just playing Baskonia basketball. Aupa Baskonia!”
Alec Peters added 18 points and Luca Vildoza had 12, while defensive pressure was the key for Baskonia’s win keeping Madrid to just seven assists and forcing 14 turnovers.
As Baskonia coach Dusko Ivanovic added: “We knew before the game that we would only have the chance to beat Madrid if we played good defense, and this is what we did. In some moments we lost our focus but in general, our win came through defense and Henry’s inspiration in the fourth quarter. This win gives us more confidence, knowing that if we do things well, if we are focused and play good defense, we will always have a chance to win. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but I think this shows us how we have to play this year.”
Facundo Campazzo with 17 points tried to save the day, but couldn’t do it, even if Real Madrid for more than three quarters was in the game until Henry’s crescendo. “It was a bad game for us which Henry decided”, admitted Real Madrid’s coach Pablo Laso who was missing Sergio Llull, Jeffery Taylor and Felipe Reyes.
Still, for Laso, the problem was the way his team played: “It is our first loss of the season and a bad game. My duty is to think about the things we did wrong and realize that we have to think of the next game. Baskonia did well, really solid. Offensively, we were not well at all, with very bad shot selection. We didn’t read clear situations of advantage and were not aggressive against a team that is strong defensively. Not only were we not hitting shots, but I had the feeling that our offenses were not well-executed. Henry managed to get tough baskets – that’s what great players do, and Henry is one of them. I have to think about what we can do better, looking at all 40 minutes. We didn’t manage to link good defenses with good offenses at any time”.