Real Madrid wants its ticket to the final on the fast track
The Madrid team hopes to give Pablo Laso a joy against a Baskonia in need and clinging to their fans
MADRID, 6 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid visits Bitci Baskonia this Tuesday (9:00 p.m.) in the third game of the semifinals of the Endesa League ‘Playoff’, with the aim of fast-tracking the tie to play its ninth ACB final in recent ten years and give his coach Pablo Laso a joy against a rival who hopes to improve supported by the Buesa Arena to extend the series.
In a duel marked by the myocardial infarction suffered by the Real Madrid coach, from Vitoria and formerly of the Baskonia team, the white team will seek to continue the trend of consistent play that has allowed them to be far superior to Baskonia in the two games at the WiZink Center.
As Laso predicted before the start of these semifinals, controlling the rebound and an intense and aggressive defense would be the keys to setting the pace of the matches, and the European runner-up has been outstanding in this, whose intensity has been able to beat Neven’s men Spahija.
Chus Mateo, Laso’s assistant, will be in charge of directing the team from the bench while the Basque coach continues his recovery. The man from Madrid, who was already head coach when the man from Vitoria tested positive for coronavirus, confirmed at a press conference this Monday that Sergio Llull is ruled out, even for a hypothetical fourth game, as are Thomas Heurtel and Trey Thompkins, with injuries to their ankle. Alberto Abalde will be a serious doubt, while homegrown players Eli John Ndiaye and Urban Klavzar will travel to Vitoria to try to lend a hand to a team that is recovering from its problems in the point guard position.
“There is only one game in our heads and we will try to do our best. As much as we are distracted, we have to focus and reset. I know that we have to do a series of basics very well to defeat Baskonia: defend as a team and try to reduce its good points”, analyzed Mateo.
BASKONIA NEEDS TO RAISE ITS LEVEL
For their part, those of Neven Spahija, who argued tiredness to explain the lower level of his team against the whites (the two crossover games were played less than 48 hours apart, after the series of three games against Valencia Basket) , they will want to find their best energy to bring excitement, helped by the ‘boiler’ that will be the Buesa Arena.
The Basque team will have to offer their best version to defeat an emotionally affected Real Madrid. In the two games in the capital he suffered the offensive streaks that characterize his rival, who was able to play almost always very comfortably and without being disturbed, which also allowed him to save some energy.
For this, Baskonia above all needs its two point guards, William Baldwin IV and Jayson Granger, to improve their performance and be able to get more advantage over their defenders, and also the best version of Rokas Giedraitis, who left the WiZink Center without scoring in the second match. In addition, their interiors will have to contribute points against the defense imposed by Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier.
“We are united, the players want and with the support of the fans I hope to play better basketball”, Spahija wished in the previous one, also warning of the quality of the whites despite the casualties. The objective, to survive the ‘Playoff’ battle, will be to recover the smile after breaking their positive trend away from home of six straight wins, with both defeats at the Palace.
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
BITCI BASCONY: Baldwin IV, Giedraitis, Fontecchio, Peters and Enoch — possible starting quintet — Granger, Marinkovic, Costello, Raieste, Sedekerskis, Wetzell and Kurucs.
REAL MADRID: Hanga, Causeur, Deck, Yabusele and Tavares — possible starting quintet –; Randolph, Abalde, Rudy Fernandez, Poirier, Taylor, Nunez, Ndiaye and Klavzar.
–PAVILLION: Fernando Buesa Sand.
–TIME: 21.00/#Let’s go.