Real Madrid defends its status against a weak Baskonia at home

Real Madrid defends its status against a weak Baskonia at home

MADRID, 6 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Real Madrid will defend this Tuesday at the WiZink Center (8:45 p.m.) their current good moment in the Regular Phase of the Euroleague 2022-2023 against a Cazoo Baskonia that still cannot find another good dynamic in the competition and that is currently denied away from Fernando Good Sand.

The Madrid team has found consolation for their cup reverse in the European Cup, where they are currently leading the league, although with one game less than the Greek Olympiacos and Barça, who meet this same day at the La Paz Pavilion and the Amistad, a cross that the ten-time European champion hopes to take advantage of with a win against a rival who has defeated him this year in both of their matches.

Baskonia has managed to measure up to Chus Mateo's men, who also face the match with the desire to take revenge for the two setbacks suffered against Joan Peñarroya's men, both in the Vitoria pavilion where the Baskonia fans prevailed in tight duels by 88-82, in the Endesa League, and 92-86, in the Euroleague.

In these two clashes, the Basque team was able to impose its offensive rhythm on another of the best on the Old Continent, with great success from the triple in both, and with Markus Howard, in the continental, and Dauton Hommes, in the domestic, as references . In addition, the victory in the Euroleague crowned the best moment of Baskonia, which then added the eleventh consecutive between the two competitions, but from then on it has slowed down and has not been able to continue.

And it is that since then, the team from Vitoria, which also experienced an elusive Copa del Rey, has added seven defeats in the continental tournament, six of them at home and all of them consecutive. This has taken him off the hook for the 'Top 4', from which he is, in any case, only two wins away, and to which he hopes to re-enlist with a revitalizing one as a visitor, something that resists him in this Euroleague where he has only won in three of his 13 trips away from Vitoria.

Real Madrid wants to take advantage of this, which is, on the contrary, in a moment of greater regularity despite its disappointment in Badalona. In the European tournament he accumulates five wins in a row, the same ones that he treasures at the WiZink Center where he knows that he must not fail to cement his chances of having the 'court factor' for the 'playoffs'.

The Madrid team faces an important double weekday with a second game at home against another team from the Endesa League, Valencia Basket, and its objective is to get both ahead to travel to the field of an irregular Turkish Anadolu Efes in their postponed match and take the sole lead there in this Regular Phase.

Despite Baskonia's problems at home, the match in the capital is expected to be even and again with a high offensive rhythm, so lowering the rival's attacking numbers could bring one or the other closer to victory. In this sense, the local defense could have fewer "problems" if Markus Howard, less toned in this part of the season, is again low as against Coviran Granada, although he will still have to stop players like Darius Thompson, Rokas Giedraitis and Daulton Hommes , while the visitor will try to do the same with Dzanan Musa and Gaby Deck.

In addition, Steven Enoch and Maik Kotsar will also have to do their best to stop the impact that Walter Tavares always generates, although Chus Mateo did not guarantee his presence due to the sprained ankle that kept him out of the Monbus Obradoiro visit this weekend. Guerschon Yabusele, absent in the last European triumph against ASVEL, was already at Fontes do Sar, and Rudy Fernández could also return after being absent in the last two games. Peñarroya recovers Tadas Sedekerskis.

REAL MADRID: Williams-Goss, Causeur, Deck, Cornelie and Poirier -- possible starting quintet -- Sergio Rodriguez, Musa, Hezonja, Yabusele, Hanga, Abalde, Ndiaye, Tavares and Rudy Fernandez.

BASCON CAZOO: Thompson, Marinkovic, Giedraitis, Hommes and Kotsar --possible starting quintet--; Howard, Heidegger, Costello, Raieste, Ten, Sedekerskis and Kurucs.

--REFEREES: Javor, Mogulkoc and Vilius.

--PAVILION: WiZink Center.