83-118: Real Madrid imposes its stripes and recovers the home court factor

Real Madrid imposed its stripes and knocked down this Friday with authority (83-118) a La Laguna Tenerife team that, despite being at a good level in the first two quarters, could not keep up with the pace of the leaders of the regular phase, who recovered the home court factor like great basketball and will play on Saturday at the Movistar Arena for a place in the semifinals of the Endesa League.

The enthusiasm that was in the stands before the start of the match faded as the third quarter concluded, in which Real Madrid dominated in all its lines, first within the zone and also from the outside shot with Sergio Llull who paved the way for Sergio Scariolo’s team to widen the gap even further and leave with a clear advantage in the final quarter.

It was not the best game for the Tenerife team, who had just surprised their rival at the start of the series. They showed fatigue when Real Madrid pressed and they were no longer able to cover gaps so easily. Today Real Madrid was much superior. As a highlight, Marcelinho Huertas, the undisputed leader of the local team, finished the game with zero points and only three assists.

But during the first twenty minutes the island fans thought about the possibility of reaching an equal end and why not? Try to score the final 2-0. Doornekamp’s triple to start and make it clear to the visiting team that they were in Santiago Martín, but the white team set a road map and knew where they could do damage.

He played, as he did in the first match, looking to score from the inside, but he also had exterior success which allowed him to stay in the game.

The maximum local advantage was at 26-21 (min.11). The Canary Islands team worked hard in defense and attack with some errors, but they were intense in their search to stay alive. Maledón, with two triples, brought his team closer again, and the point guard himself scored 26-28 to put his team ahead on the scoreboard for the first time.

The Madrid fans managed to go six points ahead at half-time with a trademark final basket by Llull, which began to tip the victory for the visitors because after the break the game ended for the Tenerife team. Real Madrid positioned themselves better on the field, they were more successful against a Tenerife team with many errors and unable to turn the score around.

With a 20-point advantage, we reached the last quarter, ten minutes left, since the Tenerife team, although they tried in the first moments, were no longer able to turn the score around and will play for their survival on Saturday at the Movistar Arena, a court where they will need to add their third victory in the last month and a half if they do not want to be eliminated.