League leaders mount comeback to extend winning run

The league leaders delivered a stunning fightback to continue their fine run in the Endesa League and take a tenth consecutive win. It was by no means easy against opposition who made life hard for our team and even took at 13-point lead in the second quarter. But Real Madrid got their heads down and improved after the break to turn the scores around and take the win in the final minute at the Movistar Arena. Tavares played a key role (PIR 21) at the end of the match as Musa (15 points) and Garuba (12) top scored.

The game got underway in fairly even fashion. Madrid made the most of some good work in the paint, closing out the rebound and taking advantage of Garuba, who was on fire at both ends (8 points and 3 rebounds). At the same time, UCAM were setting a physical pace to the game and moving the ball nicely to take the scores to 11-12 (5’). The Murcia team got into their groove and edged ahead, only for Musa (9 points) and Bruno Fernando to ensure they didn't race away in the first quarter (23-28).

UCAM finish the first half on top
Sito Alonso's boys, led by Kurucs (7 points), went on a 2-10 run at the start of the second period to extend their lead to the maximum so far (25-38). Chus Mateo called a timeout to try and correct things, especially in defense, and the team responded well. Garuba was rebounding brilliantly (9 in total), and two successive triples for Llull and Abalde took the gap down to five points. UCAM reacted themselves to go into the break with a six-point lead (37-43).

The madridistas stepped things up after the break, looking more solid at the back and finding space all over the court, while maintaining impressive consistency on the rebound. Abalde, Musa and Tavares managed to make the scores tighter with some fine play (46-49; min. 25) as Chus Mateo's boys showed patience, commitment and hard work to claw back the 13-point deficit from the second quarter. They completed the job with 29’ on the clock at 55-53, but UCAM hit back to leave the game wide open heading into the final quarter (58-59).

Madrid seal the fightback in the final minute
There were 10 minutes to go and the league leaders knew it wasn't about to get any easier. Both sides treated the Movistar Arena to a quite stunning final quarter. First, Madrid went on a 7-2 run led by Hezonja to make it 65-61 (33’). The visitors reacted and went ahead again (67-68), and the scoreboard read 76-75 with less than a minute left on the clock. It was all going down to the final plays. With 30 seconds left, Campazzo hit two free throws (78-75). Ennis then drove towards the basket and missed, and Tavares took the rebound and was fouled by Kurucs. He made no mistake from the line to clinch a 80-75 victory, the team's 10th in a row in the league.

REAL MADRID-UCAM MURCIA STATISTICS