By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Facu Campazzo scored 13 points, dished out nine assists, grabbed seven rebounds and stole the ball five times as Real Madrid beat Panathinaikos 78 – 63 in Game 2 of the EuroLeague playoffs to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
“This was amazing. The court. The game. We had to play. Keep playing,” Campazzo said in the post-game flash interview. It was the Argentinian guard’s first interview in English.
Real can sweep the series Tuesday (23/3), in Athens, while every game is now a “do-or-die” affair for Panathinaikos that hosts the next two matches. No team has ever come back from a 0-2 deficit in the history of the EuroLeague quarterfinals.
It was a tough game to play for Panathinaikos given also the heartbreaking manner in which the team lost in Game 1, after recovering from a 14-point deficit and going up by six down the stretch. The “Greens” had issues connecting to the basket, shooting 15/41 2-pointers and 7/20 3-pointers. Captain Nick Calathes finished with a large stain of 0/11 shots, next to his seven assists, four rebounds, and four assists.
On the other hand, the Blancos fired triples at will, finishing with 13/27. Campazzo’s playmaking and the ability of Laso’s squad to make the most out of their opponents 17 turnovers with 19 points off them, completed the job on offense for the defending champions.
Real dominated the third period 26 – 15 thanks to Campazzo doing brilliant work on both ends, to reach the fourth period up by 20, 61 – 41. The visiting squad made attempts to cut the deficit but never managed to be competitive to achieve a complete recovery.
Jeff Taylor had 11 points for Real while Gustavo Ayon and Anthony Randolph added 10 points apiece for Real. From Panathinaikos, DeShaun Thomas (13 points) and Sean Kilpatrick (10 points) scored in double figures.