Real Madrid achieved their second win of the preseason. After beating Benfica last week, they beat Monaco in a friendly match that took place in a packed Municipal Sports Hall in Pontevedra and was part of the EncestaRías Tournament. The Dream Game, as it was called, pitted the current champions of the Spanish and French Leagues against each other, who offered a Euroleague-level match. Chus Mateo’s team took the win in the last play with a basket from Deck. The defense and a great performance from Musa in attack (21 points and 27 PIR) were decisive in staying undefeated.
A demanding and highly competitive match was one that the Madrid players won. Tavares, Musa and Hezonja made their debuts this season. From the start, Chus Mateo put the three on the court alongside Campazzo and Deck. After a few minutes of inaccuracies on both teams due to the height of the season, our team found success from outside to unbalance the first quarter with four consecutive three-pointers, two from Musa, Abalde and Feliz (21-17).
The calm in scoring was restored in the second quarter, but this time due to the greater activity of the defenses. The rotations were continuous. Feliz and Ibaka showed how important they will be during the season in the defensive aspect, while Hugo González provided the energy in attack. Another two Madrid triples and the possibility of running after closing the rebound in their basket allowed them to reach an 8-point advantage against a Monaco that always put up resistance with Okobo and Korkmaz (35-30, min.20).
The French pushed forward after the restart thanks to points from Motiejunas and offensive rebounds, taking the lead at 38-39 in the 23rd minute. Madrid quickly came out on top. Two three-pointers from Musa, accompanied by Campazzo in the direction and some good minutes from Deck, gave our team the lead back on the scoreboard after a 7-0 run. Abalde, very inspired from the perimeter, responded to Monaco and Okobo’s attempts to get closer (60-55, min.30).
Decide Deck
Madrid maintained the initiative until the 35th minute thanks to the good work of Abalde and Musa. With the score at 65-58, the team had the game under control, but two technical fouls on Hezonja, who was sent off, gave Monaco wings. Okobo tied the game at 69 with 3 minutes left. Chus Mateo’s men had a great deal of merit in not getting carried away. They put together several defensive plays and added points from the free throw line, but Okobo managed to equalise the score at 75 with 3 seconds left. When it seemed that overtime was headed for, Deck appeared. A specialist in last-gasp shots, the Argentinean penetrated, stood up and scored a mid-distance basket of his own with the score at zero. Victory and we remain undefeated (77-75, min.40).
Technical sheet:
77-Real Madrid: Campazzo (8), Musa (19), Deck (14), Hezonja (5) and Tavares (2) -starting five- Abalde (11), Sidi (-), Hugo González (3), Rathan-Mayes (2), Andrés Feliz (5), Ibaka (8) and Ndiaye (0).
75-Monaco: Calathes (5), Blossomgame (4), Korkmaz (9), Brown (9) and Motiejunas (11) -starting five- Okobo (21), Diallo (10), Papagiannis (4), Cornelie (2) and Jaiteh (0).
