• Euroleague Qualifying

  • Barça win in Istanbul and secure the lead

Juggling off the cliff, desperately clinging to his Euroleague life.

Real Madrid won

one of those battles in which there is no longer much to think about.

Beat or (almost) say goodbye.

Against Olympiacos, an old rival, he was something like the soldier who leaves his trench and walks towards the enemy between the bullets.

He is still on the wire, but with encouragement and depending on himself.

[72-63: Narration and statistics]

Because there is no other.

Because no more bad news could accumulate around, Real Madrid orphan of the

sanctioned Pablo Laso

on the bench, with his reference Tavares doubts until the last minute, with Zenit and Valencia, direct rivals for the quarterfinals, barely winning their attacks minutes before, with Barça a solid leader ... With three defeats on the run in that once impregnable WiZink, the last on Tuesday against Efes, the sixth in the last nine Euroleague meetings.

With the mathematics fuming for that minimum objective that was always for Madrid to advance from the regular phase.

Everything on the side in the minds with the ball in the air and intensity as a starting point, Garuba harassing Printezis, Taylor Sloukas and

the old Spanoulis

waiting like a gunman on the bench, perhaps his last shootout against Madrid.

Chus Mateo

Soon the team opened the gap this time from Chus Mateo, without conceding an easy shot to the Greeks.

Tavares, despite his obvious limp, conditioned everything as usual.

Deck

, the other usual striker, hurt with his momentum and Laprovittola scored fluently to set the maximum (18-8).

Ending soon the hopes of a rival who did not play anything and who came with significant casualties was on the road map.

Causeur gave another boost in the rotation (27-16), which featured

Felipe Reyes and Jaycee Carroll

.

Alex Tyus, who came as the only winter reinforcement, did not even dress short.

And both, with Spanoulis in front, pure nostalgia, as if it were a battle of those of a decade ago, were important to maintain the strength of the second unit.

Olympiacos went into halftime with 26 points.

The following spring was driven by the defensive excellence of Garuba and the triples of Taylor and Thompkins (49-33).

Madrid had the tusk, it arrived before its rival.

And Tavares was heroic: he finished with

15 points, eight rebounds and four steals

, despite his physical problems.

From the defense and the intensity he forgot his ills in a night without brilliance.

And he was approaching the brink of a desperate triumph in which Deck was clearly the best and Vezenkov barely resisted.

Next Thursday, perhaps with

Sergio Llull

back, against a Fenerbahçe who lost against Barça and suffered Vesely's injury, it will be to be or not to be.

The Turks, already classified, are at stake to be seeded.

Madrid will look for the most difficult yet.

If he wins, it could be even fifth (never beyond sixth).

If he loses, he will need at least one stumble from Zenit.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Madrid

  • Real Madrid

  • Sergio Llull

  • Valencia

  • Pablo Laso Biurrún

  • Euroleague

  • sports

ACB 2020 - 2021Real Madrid does not win for scares

Euroleague 2020 - 2021Neither pride nor Tavares avoid frustration: Barça reign again in Madrid

ACB 2020 - 2021Real Madrid lick the wounds of the classic: Tavares and Deck derail Baskonia

See links of interest

  • 2021 business calendar

  • Alba Berlin - Valencia Basket

  • Bautista - Sinner, live

  • Fenerbahce Istanbul - Barça

  • Real Madrid - Olympiacos, live

  • Levante - Huesca