Real Madrid improves without success
The Madrid team fell 93-90 against Efes in a game in which they were ahead by 38 minutes and where they lacked success at the end
MADRID, 22 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid were unable to get a valuable victory on Tuesday, in sports and emotional terms, during their visit to Turkish Anadolu Efes, current Euroleague champion who defeated them by a tight 93-90 after a game where the madridistas, supported by Gaby Deck and Guerschon Yabusele, they were ahead until the final two minutes.
Pablo Laso’s team could not take a firm step in their recovery and in order to secure second place in the Regular Phase of the highest continental competition, already altered with the goodbye of the Russian teams. He improved his performance, especially at an offensive level, but he just missed the success both in the final quarter (11 points) and when the match was decided in favor of Ergin Ataman’s men.
A great Deck, who played the entire game and had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Yabusele, who only rested for a little over two minutes and scored 20 points, with the good collaboration of Adam Hanga (14), kept Real ahead for many minutes Madrid, but when Elijah Bryant’s three-pointer put the hosts ahead for the first time in the entire game, he no longer had energy.
The Madrid team made a good start in attack, despite the fact that they once again suffered from accuracy from the triple, with a 1/7 that did not weigh them down excessively thanks to their freshness when moving the ball (8 assists) to find other ways.
That, and his good defensive attitude, allowed him to take the initiative in the electronic from the initial jump. A first threat (12-19) was closed by Micic, the best of his team with 17 of his 29 points in the first half and despite suffering three blocks, but at the end of the first quarter Laso’s men were in charge (19-21) .
However, the outside aim returned in the second quarter, thanks to Rudy Fernández and Yabusele, who with two hits each signed a 4/4 in this facet that improved the statistics and that, together with Deck’s work, caused the visitors to send .
Thus, the first two hits from the Balearic Islands, another from the French and two almost consecutive ‘2+1’s from the Argentine put the ten-time European champion above ten points (31-44). Efes replied with a 7-0 and got closer to 42-44 taking advantage of bad choices by Heurtel, but five consecutive points from Yabusele stretched the score again until 44-51 at the break.
BAD QUARTER FINAL
After this, Real Madrid had the good news of the emergence of Walter Tavares, until then with little offensive impact. Five points from the Cape Verdean ‘giant’ and the relentless Deck gave new air (48-60), but the current champion did not lose his face and in the absence of a good version of Shane Larkin (12 points with 4/15), he found Moerman.
The French power forward was Micic’s best ‘squire’ with 18 points, 12 of them from the triple where he kept a hand in the final stages of the third quarter with his compatriot Yabusele. Heurtel and Hanga joined forces and Laso’s men entered the final quarter ahead (72-79).
And this last period, especially its second half, was long for Real Madrid, who thanks to Deck managed to keep an advantage that was gradually diminishing. Moerman pulled the cart and finally returned all the options to the locals (85-86).
Until then, the Madrid team endured despite the efforts of their Argentine forward. The three-pointers (11) that had entered no longer did so and Micic appeared to be key, with a three-pointer to tie and a steal from Deck for 93-90 just after Bryant put Efes ahead for the first time. This had a ball to sentence on several occasions, he did not do it and the last forced triple by Rudy Fernández did not give five more minutes.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: ANADOLU EFES, 93 – REAL MADRID, 90 (44-51, at halftime).
–EQUIPMENT.
ANADOLU EFES: Larkin (12), Micic (29), Anderson (5), Moerman (18) and Pleiss (11) –initial quintet–; Beaubois (5) Dunston (8), Bryant (3) and Simon (2).
REAL MADRID: Williams-Goss (9), Hanga (14), Deck (23), Yabusele (20) and Tavares (5) — starting five–; Heurtel (5), Rudy Fernández (6), Randolph (-), Poirier (8) and Thompkins.
–PARTIALS: 19-21, 25-30, 28-28 and 21-11.
–REFEREES: Ryzhyk, Nikolic and Javor. Without eliminated.
–PAVILLION: Sinan Erdem Dome.