El Baxi Manresa took advantage of a Real Madrid blunt in attack and won 75-86 demonstrating the reason for their good classification, without fading at any time and looking for solutions when Madrid threatened to break up the game in the first half.
Pablo Laso, coach of Real Madrid, surprised starting Juan Núñez as game director and Nigel Williams-Goss as escorta, although in three positions they exchanged positions.
Madrid began to dominate thanks to the power of Guerschon Yabusele and the mobility of Vincent Poirier under the basket, since the Frenchman replaced Walter Tavares in the early stages of the game, after committing a couple of mistakes in defense.
With 22-15 the first act ended, in which Chima Moneke, Elias Valtonen and Luke Maye They began to show signs of their versatility and involvement in their team’s game.
In the second quarter, Poirier was ‘punished’ by Laso after a mistake, giving way to Tavares. Madrid, with Rudy, Gaby Deck and Yabusele carrying the weight of the team, was about to decide the result, 27-16 (m.12) and 41-29 (m.18.30), the Catalan team knew how to get out of the quagmire and continue in the game.
Maye and Valtonen had a lot to do with what el Manresa went to the dressing room with 41-34 on the scoreboard. Also that he dominated the rebound by 21-26.
The Catalan team came out of the changing rooms better, with Dani Pérez and Moneke as offensive engines, 46-45 (m.25), while in Madrid no leader in scoring has just appeared. A triple by Rafa Martínez gave Manresa their first lead in the match, 48-50 (m.25.45).
And a triple from Maye his maximum advantage, 48-55 (m.27.10) at the moment of greatest local confusion in the attack. The American power forward became Madrid’s nightmare until the end of the fourth with 57-64, after a 16-30 run in this period.
Baxi Manresa reached a ten point lead, 59-69 (m.32), Given the local confusion that could not find a way to stop the mobility of rival players and neither a reliable scorer.
The advantage reached 15 points, 59-74 (m.33.15) propitiated by a zonal defense from the Catalans, which cooled down the comeback attempt of a blunt Real Madrid.
A triple by Rudy with 2 minutes remaining, 73-80, lit the fuse of an epic victory attempt, but Dani Pérez was in charge of extinguishing it, in the next play, with a basket. Manresa won 75-86 against a blunt Real Madrid.
Datasheet:
75 – Real Madrid (22+19+16+18): Williams-Goss (2), Núñez, Deck (21), Tavares (6) and Yabusele (15) -initial team-, Randolph (3), Heurtel (3 ), Rudy (15), Poirier (6) and Llull (4).
86 – Baxi Manresa (15+19+30+22): Moneke (14), Vaulet (2), Thomasson, Pérez (17) and Sima (5) -initial team-, Francisco (4), García, Steinbergs (7 ), Martinez (3), Valtonen (14) and Maye (20).
Referees: Carlos Cortés, Luis Miguel Castillo and Cristóbal Sánchez. Walter Tavares (m.36) and Yankuba Sima (m.36) were eliminated by five personals.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-fifth day of the regular phase of the Endesa League played at the Palacio de Deportes (WiZink Center) in Madrid before some 6,000 spectators. A minute of silence was observed in memory of Antonio Novoa, first president of the ACB.