Defeat in EuroLeague playoff opener

Real Madrid were unable to take the win in Athens in their first EuroLeague playoff match, against an Olympiacos outfit who were too strong, especially in the first half, where they raced to an 18-point lead. Our boys did their best after the break, led by Llull, but the Greeks stood firm. The second clash at the same venue comes in under 48 hours' time (Friday, 8:30pm CEST).

The game didn't start well for the madridistas. Tavares posted the first basket, but Olympiacos quickly showed some impressive shooting and defence in the first quarter. Fournier and Vezenkov (16 points between them) led a 25-6 run in the opening nine minutes, as our boys struggled to get into the game and made 7 turnovers. Personal fouls also punished the Cape Verde center, who was forced to the bench with two (27-14, min. 10).

Trailing from the off
The arrival of Hezonja and Ibaka improved the team's point-scoring for a brief spell, but they were making life too easy at the other end, and seemed unable to close out the rebound. The Greeks were simply in the groove - and the difference in turnovers (2 to 13) was a liability throughout the first half, which meant Madrid were unable to cut the deficit to below 10. The second period slipped away from them too, at 20-15 (47-29, min. 30).
The third quarter started in much the same way for, Madrid with the second technical foul and an expulsion for Chus Mateo. Despite this, and the different refereeing criteria (fourth personal foul by Tavares and a technical foul for the bench), our boys refused to give in and they managed to put up a fight. They tightened up on the defensive rebound and found some added aggression at the back. With Feliz, who took 4 steals, Garuba and Ibaka on court, they enjoyed some positive minutes at the end of the quarter to clinch a 7-0 run and finish the period 17-22 (64-51, min. 30).

Llull looks to drive the team on
Madrid refused to give up on their attempts to get back into the game, despite not being at their sharpest. They fought tooth and nail in search of the comeback, and ended up winning the second half 43-37. Llull picked the team up on his shoulders, and 8 points almost consecutively, of 11 in the final quarter, looked like they might just change the course of the match. Madrid were 11 points away with four minutes left, but Olympiacos came up with strong individual runs, this time by Peters and Fournier, to kill off any hopes of the turnaround (84-72, min. 40).

OLYMPIACOS-REAL MADRID STATISTICS