The story of Real Madrid’s 11th European Cup could not be written other than in an epic way. The performance by the white team to defeat Olympiacos in Kaunas, Greece by a point in a stunning finish that saw Sloukas miss the final shot. The Madrid team fended off an ebullient Vezenkov (29 points and nine rebounds) and crowned themselves in the air with three seconds from time with a goal from Llull, his only goal of the evening and crowned themselves in Europe. Glory to Madrid, Tavares (MVP of the Final Four), the old rockers and Chus Mateo, who was celebrated in his first year as White House head coach.
It was a museum finale. A rarity at first glance. Tavares had someone looking into his eyes. Moustapha Fall, 2.18 m, before his 2.20 m. Tower against tower. Even if the game began to wobble on the outside: From the first four attempts there were three, with Bart Bingo. They repeated the Canaan and Papanikolaou courts, but Madrid were already trying to smash stones inside. This time Tavares hit another mountain and Fall paid the price with two early fouls. Vezenkov challenged the junior Ndiaye and Canaan was still connected with the treble to open a gap (19-10). Chus Mateo capitalized on the ingenuity of Sergio Rodríguez and the claw of Rudy and Bartzokas the fevered Sloukas. Bolomboy, Fall’s successor, followed the same path: two fouls and the bench. This is what it means to meet Tavares. The colossus didn’t rest a second in a duel without a white flag (24-17 at the end of the first quarter).
Madrid had gained clairvoyance with Chacho at the wheel and a successful four-point Hezonja striking from the touchline. On defense, the field began to pay off and the Whites recovered from a 12-point deficit and took command with a 5:19 run from 24:12 to 29:31. Nor was there a truce at Olympiakos Piraeus for Vezenkov, the man of all trades, a shooter from every corner who shed barely 25 seconds in the entire first half. The players in red tried to make the most of Tavares’ break (15th minute, through Randolph), but Madrid kept their heads up with the rearguard of plenty of assists and three-pointers from their two inside men and Musa. The 45-45 half time was the best description of a game played power to power, very fast in every basket. No one saved an ounce of basketball in a great final.
Tavares, before Black. TOMS KALNINS (EFE)
The return of the Tavares fall duel was silenced by Musa from a distance. Also Canaan from a rim of the circumference, with the wrist as hot as at the beginning of the evening (five threes out of six). And of course the ubiquitous Vezenkov, able to invent a foul in his favor where there was little light contact (57-52). The Bulgarian accelerated on every tile and hoarded the ball. The Zalgirio Arena was a roaring cauldron with Olympiacos cheered on. There was no color in the stands. Madrid were clearly moving into enemy territory.
Sergio Rodríguez’s wand broke a three-and-a-half minute goal drought in Chus Mateo’s team. Williams-Goss completed a long-range, pass-to-pass pool play and a counterattack by Hanga restored the balance of power. Neither team was able to reach the table. Tension and nervousness shot up. A Sloukas goal and a Rudy three-pointer missed after a carom on the edge gave Olympiacos a finger advantage in the last quarter (63-59). The Euroleague marathon was decided in a chapter worthy of a Hitchcock film.
The Madrid bench paid for their protest with a technique for a slap in the face of Tavares, the sack of all beatings. The Madrid pillar showed strong nerves to forget about the underground game and focus on the Olympiacos board. It was time to attack with everything. The Imperial Vezenkov thanked Sloukas for helping serve a tray, then signed a few distant hits. McKissic had the legs to punish the Whites with his penetrations and the Spanish side resisted with Causeur’s goal (74-70).
Madrid latched on to Sergio Rodríguez’s final moments of magic to score and strengthen the link with Tavares. The canary set off an earthquake with his three-pointer with 46 seconds left (78-77), the fall disappeared under the rim and Llull extended the delirium with a basket with 3.2 seconds remaining. He had not scored a goal in the entire duel up to that point. Sloukas missed the final shot that decides glory. With his eternal epic behind them, Madrid became European champions.
OLYMPIACOS, 78; REAL MADRID, 79
Olympiacos: Walkup (0), Canaan (21), Papanikolaou (6), Vezenkov (29) and Fall (0) – start five -; Larentzakis (0), Sloukas (6), Bolomboy (2), Black (0) and Mckissic (14).
Real Madrid: Williams-Goss (9), Hanga (2), Musa (6), Ndiaye (3) and Tavares (13) – starting five –; Causeur (11), Randolph (3), Rudy Fernández (3), Hezonja (12), Sergio Rodríguez (15) and Llull (2).
Partially: 24-17, 21-28, 18-14 and 15-20.
Referee: Sasa Pukl, Gytis Vilius and Mehdi Difallah. No expulsions.
Zalgirio Arena: 11,066 spectators.
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