Dimitris Kouimtsidis
REAL MADRID have beaten Baskonia in the Euroleague round 23 all-Spanish clash.
The Madrilenos who are currently second in Europe’s top tier competition struggled significantly to overcome the Basques who lie third from bottom.
Shavon Shields scored a lay-up to equal the score at 69 apiece with 4 seconds left on the clock.
With the game seeming destined for overtime, Baskonia’s Nick Stauskas shocked everyone rushing to foul Facundo Campazzo and sending him to the free throw line.
The look on the faces of the Baskonia players painted a thousand pictures, all struggling to understand the thought process of their teammate.
Campazzo made his first free throw and missed the second, but the Basques could only muster a desperation shot, that ultimately proved to be in vain, resulting in the final score, 70-69.
For Madrid coach Pablo Laso, 52, however, the point of the night is that his team kept its composure until the end, despite an off night: “I think we stayed pretty solid.”
The Spaniard is not allowing himself to look ahead to the play-offs, as he wants to make sure his team finishes as high as possible to get home-court advantage: “We still have to work hard to get in the playoffs and get home-court advantage.”
