Real Madrid's French striker Guerschon Yabusele reacts during the EuroLeague game against ASVEL.Mariscal (EFE)
There are days in WiZink when Real Madrid cannot find themselves, although that doesn't mean anything, because even in these cases, Chus Mateo's team is a steamroller (86-79). It allows his rival, in this case Asvel from a suburb of Lyon, like last night, to get his hopes up and then use all or part of his artillery because Tavares is still in the stands. The French team managed to come close to Madrid's first breakaway attempt, but it was enough for Alocén and Rudy to do their best in defense for their team to expand the range.
There is the white team that, like the others, has a lot of consecutive games ahead of it and that shows in the performance, but there is always the quality of the team against rivals like last night, enthusiastic but thanks to keeping close to these requests , which is sometimes not enough.
What happened in the first quarter was repeated several times throughout the game. Even after Madrid had to run for a while to take the lead by 15 (50-35). The score expanded and contracted as the Whites took a break, but Yabusele got off the stationary bike where he relaxed his muscles or, after some laughter with his teammates on the bench, got serious and increased the distance again. The Frenchman, who did everything, made the difference compared to his compatriots. He scored three, two; also the 11 free throws he attempted. He rebounded, stole and counterattacked, making him the best in the game. And when he took a break, Campazzo would show up and mess up; or Sergio Rodríguez, with his natural elegance, took command on the pitch and revolutionized the game. The sometimes anarchic deck also contributed to this. This was the case throughout the game, despite the sloppiness at the end that reduced the final lead to just seven points as Paris Lee insisted her team had something to say too.
Baskonia, 92 – Maccabi, 82
Baskonia also won in Buesa against Maccabi (92-82) after a very competitive game in which they appeared without Chiozza, Costello, Diop and Sedekerskis. But there was Howard, who finished with 26 points, and also Marinkovic (14) and Moneke (15), who beat the up-and-coming team in the Euroleague. Moneke was imperial in this regard (15), and Kotsar was not far behind (9). In reality, it was a great performance that was appreciated by the Buesa Arena stands, who were not sure if their team would be able to keep up with so many losses. But he did it, even though Moneke and Kotsar had to play almost 37 minutes each and Marinkovic, increasingly composed, surpassed the 29th minute. Baskonia defeated Maccabi, whose average was improved despite the efforts of former Baskonia player Baldwin (25 points), who was penalized for throwing the ball to one of the referees at the end of the game and then confronting him, despite his teammates' attempts to get him out of the way.
Alba Berlin, 66 – Valencia Basket, 81
Valencia Basket took a walk through the Alba Berlin field (66-81). Mumbrú's men don't forgo the red lantern of the regular phase and play one of their most relaxed games in recent weeks. With great defensive work, they held Alba to 15 points in each of the first three quarters, which easily rewarded their offensive work. The work of Getxo's López-Arostegui shone on the pitch in the crucial moments, such as that of Ojeleye in the shot (18 points).
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