By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
From the early 15-point cushion to recovering from a spirited comeback effort for a 16-point advantage at the buzzer, Real Madrid defeated Crvena Zvezda mts, 72-56, Friday.
Standing out in the balanced offensive effort in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 4, Dzanan Musa tallied 13 points.
Gabriel Deck logging 12 points, Guerschon Yabusele with 11 points, and Walter Tavares with ten points were the remaining double-digit scorers.
“It feels amazing, especially after the way we lost to Olympiacos. It was very important for us to get a win at home, in front of our fans,” noted Musa referring to the loss to Olympiacos at the top end of the double-game week, “And I hope we continue like this in the next games.”
“It was great to get back on track. We lost the last two games in EuroLeague. So, we needed this game. We approached the right way from the beginning and we got the win,” added Sergio Rodriguez after combining six points with eight assists.
Responding to the comeback effort spearheaded by Luca Vildoza, Los Blancos restored a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter. Another solid response was required with the lead dwindling down to five points midway through the fourth quarter. Holding on for the first win in Madrid’s WiZink Center in the 2022-23 edition of Europe’s premier club continental competition without injured players Carlos Alocen, Rudy Fernandez, Adam Hanga, Anthony Randolph, and Nigel Williams-Goss.
“We played with intensity for three of the four quarters. In the second quarter, we lost some of our intensity and probably hesitated a little bit,” mentioned head coach Chus Mateo, “But it was good to see the players sharing the ball and finding open shots.”
Vildoza, 27, got to ten points with 2/7 field goals in his first EuroLeague appearance since April 2021 and is registered for the competition despite the plea of Baskonia to EuroLeague for blocking his participation.
Ben Bentil, a teammate of Rodriguez last season at AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan, produced 17 points. Possibly unfavored following the arrival of Vildoza, Jaylen Adams did not suit up. Former Madrid center Ognjen Kuzmic and Dalibor Ilic were left out of the active squad as well alongside injured Nemanja Nedovic.
The ACB champions are off to a 4-0 start in Spain’s Liga Endesa and went up to 2-2 in EuroLeague snapping a two-game losing steak. The Belgrade outfit, reigning champion of the Admiral ABA League plus title-holder of Serbia’s league and cup, was forced down to 0-4, with three of the losses on the road.
“It is the beginning of the season,” said the play-caller of the losing side, Vladimir Jovanovic, “There is no reason to suffer too much. We had a tough schedule in the first four rounds. In this game, we started softly in the first quarter. After that, we had a chance to come back to the game but we didn’t. In the end, I felt sorry for my players, because they did not deserve to lose this game by 16 points.”
Back to domestic action, Mateo’s side will visit Cazoo Baskonia Sunday. Following up will be Virtus Segafredo Bologna featured in the Spanish capital. Up next for the visitors is a home game against FC Bayern Munich Friday, after a fixture opposite FMP Meridian and a chance to up the ABA W-L tally to 3-0 in a couple of days.
Photo Credit: Real Madrid Basket Twitter