Defeat, which is inherent to sport, becomes a catastrophe when it affects those who are used to winning, like Real Madrid. The great transatlantic teams coexist poorly with failure, so falling in two consecutive exits in the ACB League, also the first two, and also in the Euroleague premiere, in Munich, do not foster the best atmosphere in the white team. If succumbing to Leyma Coruña could be considered an anecdote against the newly promoted team with adrenaline pumping, losing in Miribilla against Bilbao Basket, after giving up the initiative, without regaining it, in the first quarter, begins to be a symptom that something is not quite right.
Madrid slept in Vitoria after passing through Bilbao, they trained at Buesa on Monday morning, and in the white expedition the words of Mario Hezonja still reverberate, especially critical of their coach, Chus Mateo: “The rhythm changes and It is very difficult for new people, for them to learn and for us to gain some chemistry,” he said, still hot, at halftime of the last game. No matter how much the coach softens the situation – “there’s no need to give it any more importance, I’m delighted with him” –, only one win in Vitoria against Baskonia, on the third day of the Euroleague (Buesa Arena, 8:30 p.m., Movistar Deportes) , could settle the controversy.
But the whites do not have it easy at all against a rival with their previous coach, Pablo Laso, on the bench, for whom the clash against Real Madrid is not just any match. “For me, a Baskonia-Madrid has been special for 40 years,” he says. And he jokes. “It sounds bad because it makes me old, but that’s how it is.” The one who was an emblematic player of the Vitorian team, before joining the white ranks, knows perfectly the ins and outs of his previous home, and assures that, despite the difficulties, “he always brings out something in bad moments that makes him very competitive”. According to Chus Mateo, “basketball has many special situations. But the ones who win are the players. I admire Pablo and he is a great coach. We have room to surprise each other, but one team plays against another, not a coach against another coach.”
The obstacles are multiplied for the Real Madrid coach due to the injury of Andrés Feliz, with a tear in the plantar fascia, and the one-match suspension of Facundo Campazzo, for his angry protests at the end of the game against Bayern. According to Pablo Laso, the lack of bases “disturbs you, but having Llull leaves you calmer. Or Abalde. He played point guard with me against Panathinaikos in a game and was almost MVP. The greats have that, that they are always competitive despite the problems and do not depend on any player.” In that sense, Chus Mateo doesn’t make excuses either. “It affects, obviously, but it is what it is,” he says. “Let’s see if we are capable of playing a good game without the two point guards we started with. We don’t make excuses for anything. We know the difficulty, but we have to face it in a different way.” Garuba will not be available for the coach either, who remembers, however, a piece of information for his team’s optimism. “It’s not easy to play in Vitoria, but last year we won everything we played here.”
On the Baskonista side they seem calmer after the first victory of the season in the ACB, and the performance of some of their players, such as Donta Hall. The Alabama player, from Monaco, scored 27 points against UCAM Murcia, 100% on the field goals he attempted. He received 12 fouls to make 11 of 14 free throws, captured 9 rebounds, gave an assist and made two blocks. He added 45 rating points, something that only Luis Scola had achieved in Vitoria since 2005.
