Important victory for Real Madrid in Belgrade

Real Madrid won in one of Europe’s most complicated courts: the Belgrade Arena. They beat a direct rival for playoff qualification, Crvena zvezda, thanks to a solid defensive performance. They signed off a perfect first half in which they achieved a 15-point lead that allowed them to win after a very close finish. With this win, Chus Mateo's team move a little closer to the goal of  Euroleague playoff qualification. Tavares’s double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) was decisive.
Madrid initially caught Crvena zvezda off guard with a zonal defense that strangled their opponents and allowed them to open up a 0-14 lead. Campazzo's leadership, Tavares' dominance under the basket and Abalde's work at both ends of the court provided our team momentum and prevented the opponent from scoring until the 6th minute. Garuba's entrance heaped even more pain on the home side by adding 7 consecutive points and pushing Chus Mateo's team to 9-22.
Madrid keep the intensity
The bad news at the start of the second quarter was Bruno Fernando's injury. But Tavares entered the court and Crvena zvezda were on the rack again. Real Madrid kept up the intensity in defense and Llull's prowess in attack made it 14-30 (14'). As in the final minutes of the first quarter, Garuba was once again the difference maker: this time in defense, doing a fantastic job in rebounding (6). Aided by Campazzo, Musa and Feliz, they combined to lead our team to the completion of a superb first half (27-42).
After returning from the locker room, it was a different story compared to the first half. Success in attack decreased, but Chus Mateo's team continued their strong defensive performance to maintain a comfortable lead (32-46; min. 25). Crvena zvezda tried a surprise through Petrusev, but the fightback was quelled thanks, in part, to Abalde’s contribution (5 points and 5 rebounds) in the final attacks of a more even third quarter (45-55).
Close finish
It was not going to be easy to win at the Belgrade Arena. The home side, with a boisterous crowd, pressed a little more and reduced the difference to 9 points (52-61). Tavares already had a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds), but Crvena zvezda pulled within five going into the final minute (67-72). After several referee reviews, Miller made it 72-74 with 46 seconds to go. But Campazzo did not miss from the free throw and scored four in a row to lead Madrid to a key victory in the final stretch of the Euroleague Regular League.
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