In the tribute to Sergio Rodríguez the star was Dzanan Musa. Real Madrid made a comeback in the Euroleague with a 77-83 win against Armani Milan, their third win in European competition after three defeats in the previous four dates (against Barcelona, Olympiacos and Virtus). If the protagonist before the match was the white team’s point guard from the Canary Islands, to whom Mediolanum paid tribute for the three seasons on its court (one League, two Cups, one Super Cup and qualification for the Final Four after 29 years), the night was for Musa, a whirlwind with 25 points (five triples, and four baskets from two without fail), five rebounds and five assists. The Bosnian forward ended up disarming an Armani who added 50 points in the first half, with 12 triples in that stretch, but only 27 in the second half, no longer that fever from the outside shot.
After the applause for Chacho, Madrid started with Hanga as the base in that roulette wheel that is sometimes the position of game director. The game dawned fresh and fast, also full of inaccuracies in the two baskets. The Armani was not right inside or outside, and did not open the can until Pangos was right almost two and a half minutes after an illegal stopper by Tavares. By then Musa had already turned on the light (2-9) with a first bite to the scoreboard. Messina jumped on the wing due to the losses of his boys and the Milan troop began to take refuge in the triples avoiding the Tavares tower (20-23).
The outside shooting party exploded in the second quarter. Mitrou-Long and Datome lifted Mediolanum, Hezonja replied, Mitrou-Long repeated… The match was then a contest of shooters, a madness of distance shots (29-26), especially from Milan, while Madrid did hit inside, territory where Tavares had no reply. Former Barça player Brandon Davies was missing. Baron kept the Italian cauldron at a good temperature and Hezonja rummaged through his long hat of offensive resources (38-43) in a match that was moving jerkily. Milan had increased their accuracy to such levels (12 of 16 three-pointers in the first half) that it was difficult for them to maintain that crazy pace: 36 of their 50 points in the first half came from distance, with four Pangos bingos (50 -47).
The giant fell under its own weight. Failures began from the perimeter, one after another. The source of the triples had dried up and Chus Mateo’s team turned the picture around (56-63) despite his deflections from free throws. One of six from the perimeter for Messina, and six points in almost eight minutes of play were already too heavy a burden for the locals (61-67). The final round continued with Armani just as stuck and with the white defense more comfortable and without cracks. Only 11 Italian points in the third quarter and none in three and a half minutes in the fourth explained the outcome. Between Hezonja and Musa they rubbed their hands to tie a 2-12 run and send the match to a few final moments in which Madrid managed its advantage and breathed in the Euroleague.
116 Baskonia points
Baskonia beat Maccabi (116-87) and achieved its fourth victory this year in the Euroleague. From 35-20 in the first quarter, Joan Peñarroya’s team imposed a rhythm that overwhelmed the Israelis, who came to the match with only one defeat. In the visitors, the European champion with the Spanish team Lorenzo Brown stood out with 20 points in 27 minutes on court, the top scorer of his team. On the local side, the spikes were the work of Markus Howard (23 points), Maik Kotsar (18), Darius Thompson (15) and Vanja Marinkovic (14).
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