MADRID, 28 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid will host Red Star this Friday (8:30 p.m.) in a match corresponding to the 32nd and penultimate day of the Regular Phase of the Euroleague, with the Real Madrid team having done their homework and with no options for anything on the part of the Belgrade team.
At the WiZink Center in the capital, Chus Mateo’s pupils will play a match without excessive interest. With a balance of 25-6, and with only three games left to finish this Regular Phase, Real Madrid has guaranteed leadership. Meanwhile, Red Star sports a record of 11-20.
Although the Serbians are three games away from tenth place, the last place that gives access to the ‘play-in’, mathematically they will never occupy it since the six teams ahead of them cannot all lose at the same time in all their pending commitments; For example, a direct duel remains to be played between Partizan (14-17) and Valencia (14-18).
With the presumed absences of the injured Yago dos Santos and Nikola Topic, the team coached by Ioannis Sfairopoulos will arrive in the capital of Spain after having won 94-79 against Virtus Bologna on the last day of the Euroleague. To put together that surprising victory, Nemanja Nedovic scored 25 points and distributed seven assists.
However, Sfairopoulos’s charges then lost 83-89 to Mega Basket in the Adriatic League, where they lead two wins ahead of their neighbors Partizan. In a European key, they will now face a Real Madrid that on matchday 15 of this Regular Phase beat them without problems (58-72), with 17 points included from Mario Hezonja.
The Croatian forward, who is going through a good sporting moment and is taking advantage of the recent injuries to Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodríguez to take center stage in scoring, has been in the news in recent days due to his future, which increasingly seems further away from the Merengue club.
Despite everything, Mateo continues to trust him to fill that gap between the two ‘Sergios’. Furthermore, the Real Madrid coach already recovered Rudy Fernández in the last Endesa League match against Zunder Palencia, which ended with a 78-86 white victory to also retain the lead.
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
REAL MADRID: Campazzo, Causeur, Musa, Yabusele and Tavares — possible starting quintet–; Rudy Fernandez, Poirier, Hezonja, Abalde, Alocen, Deck and Hugo Gonzalez.
RED STAR: Nedovic, Lazic, Hanga, Bolomboy and Mitrovic –possible starting quintet–; Davidovac, Giedraitis, Gillespie, Ilic, Lazarevic, Teodosic and Tobey.
–REFEREES: Boltauzer, Sukys and Boubert.
–PAVILLION: WiZink Center.
–TIME: 8:30 p.m./Movistar Plus+.