By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Unics Kazan took advantage of some critical mistakes by Real Madrid in crunch time and closed the game with a 10-0 run to take a 65 – 58 win over the Spanish powerhouse. This is the first-ever home victory for Unics over Real and third overall this EuroLeague season.
After Alberto Abalde drained a 3-pointer to put Real Madrid up 55 – 58, Isaiah Canaan and Andrey Vorontsevich connected for back-to-back baskets that handed Unics the lead with 1:12 to play. Thomas Heurtel then made two bad passes in a row that were intercepted by his opponents and led to transition baskets that basically sealed the win for Unics.
Mario Hezonja (13 points, seven rebounds) and Andrey Vorontsevich (13 points) led Unics in scoring. Marco Spissu produced nine assists to go with his seven points while Tonye Jekiri dominated the boards with a game-high 10 rebounds, plus six points. Their team was up by 10 in the first half but fell behind after the break when Real took a seven-point lead halfway through the third quarter.
“It was amazing,” Spissu said. “I don’t know how many times I will play against Real Madrid, so it was a good opportunity for us, for me. It is amazing: we won, so I am very happy for me, but especially for the team because we work hard every day. Luckily, this is a good win for us. We have to keep rolling like that.
Edy Tavares had 18 points plus seven rebounds, Guerschon Yabusele scored 13 and Abalde dropped 10 points for Real in what was overall the worst performance by the Blancos this season. The only thing that Pablo Laso would probably want to keep from this game is the EuroLeague debut of 17-year-old guard Juan Nunez. The Spanish youngster had two points, three assists and two steals in the 3:37 minutes he spent on the floor during the second period.
“I think they really deserved it because we didn’t play a good game, and even when we were up on the scoreboard, we didn’t look like we were controlling the game,” Real Madrid coach Pablo Laso said. “I think they played much more aggressive than us, and when they had a bad moment in the game, they hit important threes that made them come back.
Not an easy thing to accomplish
Unics Kazan coach Velimir Perasovic has faced Real several times with different teams over his career. And a win against the Spanish powerhouse is always special
“I am very happy because to win against Madrid is always very difficult,” Perasovic said. “For me, it is one of the best teams, if not the best, in the EuroLeague. To win against them, you need to play really, really good defense. We made great defense, especially in the first and last quarters. To keep Madrid on 11 or 7 points in one quarter is very difficult. So congratulations to my players.”