With the urgency that comes from knowing that they are being watched due to their not very regular start, both Baskonia and Real Madrid took to the Buesa field with the intention of commanding their rival, putting their fingers in the opponent’s wounds and beginning a redemption that in the Professional sport only comes with victories. The season has just started, it is still very early, but neither the Vitorians nor the Madridans are average teams, and more is demanded of them than others. For whites this demand is multiplied. In the end it was Baskonia that handled the madness of the final minutes best to win its second game.
Since they wanted to play the same game, and the two teams know each other a lot, it happened that the equality was maximum in a first half that was played in spurts, although neither of them managed to open a gap. Chus Mateo began with Llull at the helm, given the absences of Campazzo and Feliz, the most logical option, although giving Rathan-Mayes minutes to control the Menorcan phenomenon, but always with the latent threat of the accumulation of fouls or the fatigue that In the first part it was not evident.
This is how the minutes passed, with Baskonia more successful in their outside shots, but with Madrid strong on the rebound and under the rings. Pablo Laso’s men achieved a five-point spurt in the second quarter, with the appearance of Moneke, but Chus Mateo reacted calmly from the bench and his team did not allow itself to succumb to panic. They screwed up in defense, managed to steal and ran decisively towards the opponent’s basket to return to what the game had been like at the beginning, and which went to half-time with a minimal advantage (36-35) for Baskonia.
The second half started the same. With Ndiaye earning his place in Baskonia, hyperactive in attack and defense, his team reached minimal advantages in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but Real Madrid once again put in full force in defense, forcing the Vitorian team to move on one side to another in search of a shot, and to exhaust possession in several actions. Tavares’ intimidation paid off and Madrid threatened to take off after a 0-10 run to lead 46-52 on the scoreboard.
But as the game was going in fits and starts again, the whites’ scoring source dried up for a few minutes to allow Baskonia to come back (53-52), after a couple of errors by Rathan-Mayes. In that scoring slide, once again the wind changed so that the Madridistas once again stretched the score in their favor. With seven minutes left, making a prediction about the outcome seemed risky. A three-pointer by Musa gave Madrid the maximum lead (56-62), but Howard responded in kind and Moneke later scored to keep the score within a minimum distance. Howard tied it with another triple, less than five, and a bomb from Sedekerskis put the home team ahead again.
It was crazy in Buesa because no one gave in. Llull returned to the field for the final minutes. Hezonja scored a triple, Moneke responded and Musa committed a technical looking for Howard’s foul (70-67) with 2m15s remaining. But Hezonja persevered with his triples to tie. It happened that Howard wanted to be the protagonist, and a basket on the half turn made the score 74-70 with 15 seconds remaining, and Tavares could not remedy it with his reply, because Baskonia played with intelligence, Moneke caused and received a foul , scored the shots and gave his team the second victory in the Euroleague, which further opens Madrid’s wounds.
