Real Madrid beat Joventut Badalona this Sunday 75-80 in an exciting duel at the Olimpico that was only decided in the final moments. Adam Hanga had a shot to force overtime with four seconds left with a corner 3-pointer, but it didn’t connect.
Defenses had the upper hand early in the game and both teams had trouble scoring. So much so that in five minutes of the match they only managed to score five points each. After the initial drought, Joventut took the initiative in attack with a great Ante Tomic in the area to open the first small gap in the scoreboard (15-9, min. 8).
For Real Madrid, former green and black Andrés Feliz appeared with a triple at the siren to make it 17-16 at the end of the first period. Penya once again fuels its attack thanks to the wrist of Cameron Hunt, who begins to score from medium and long range (25-21, min. 13).
However, Real Madrid fans shifted into sixth gear and a basket by Sergio Llull when the ball was hot gave his team a four-point lead (27-31, min. 16). The end of the first half ends with a great exchange of baskets which closes the score to 35-37 in favor of the guests.
After the break, Real Madrid once again relied on Feliz to take the initiative on the scoreboard and unnerve the hosts (42-48, min. 25). When it seemed that Scariolo’s team could start again in the light, Vives and Hunt presented themselves to Joventut with five consecutive points to revive once again one of the great classics of the Endesa League (52-57, min. 28).
Olímpic collapsed and became a pressure cooker, but Théo Maledon took advantage of two childish errors in attack to leave his team 55-63 with the last ten minutes of the game. In the last quarter, Real Madrid newcomer Alex Len took the whites on his shoulders and put the ball in the middle in a match in which La Penya always tried to react to the push of the guests (57-69, min. 33).
Real Madrid seemed on the verge of putting an end to the duel, but Joventut never gave up and in the blink of an eye found themselves within six points (65-71, min. 37). With four seconds left, Adam Hanga had a shot to force extra time, but he missed and Real Madrid then scored from the free throw line.
Technical data sheet
Badalona Youth (17+18+20+20): Rubio (18), Hunt (10), Kraag (2), Ruzic (3), Birgander (9) -fifth starter-; Drell (-), Hakanson (3), Vives (6), Dekker (4), Tomic (16) and Hanga (4).
Real Madrid (16+21+26+17): Campazzo (9), Kramer (8), Abalde (2), Lyles (8), Tavares (4) -fifth-; Procida (2), Maledon (11), Deck (7), Garuba (2), Llull (5), Feliz (10) and Len (12).
Referees: Jordi Aliaga, Alfonso Olivares and Igor Esteve. Local Rubio (min. 40) and guest Feliz (min. 40) eliminated for five personal fouls.
Accidents: Match corresponding to the sixth day of the Endesa League, played at the Palau Municipal d’Esports in Badalona in front of 11,372 spectators.
