Llull unblocks Real Madrid in time against Monbus

Llull unblocks Real Madrid in time.
EFE

After thirty minutes without finding his game and far from his best version, Real Madrid woke up on time and resolved, in a great last quarter of Sergio Llull, a game that had been complicated in excess before a combative Monbus Obradoiro that, although he took two sets, he could not stop the final acceleration of a rival who remains undefeated, waiting to debut this Thursday in the Euroleague (78-68).

The Balearic base, without prominence until then, appeared in the last action of the third quarter to tie the shock with a triple on the horn that spurred his team and prolonged his good moment of play in the last ten minutes in which, with others nine points, led a Real Madrid who suffered more than expected to add his third consecutive win.

Because the Galician team jumped to the WiZink Center without complexes and, under the guidance of Henry Ellenson and Thomas Scrubb and supported by a good defense, he took the first lead on the scoreboard that was taken over by the French Thomas Heurtel and Guerschon Yabusele, in the middle of the opening chapter.

The points came with a dropper and the game seemed not to have a clear dominator, although a first stretch of the whites, which coincided with the blackout of some visitors who accumulated losses and were four minutes without baskets in play, allowed Pablo Laso's men to chain a 14-4 partial that cleared the way and allowed them get ahead at the end of the first act (20-13, min 10).

Moncho Fernández's men accused their bad afternoon in the outdoor shooting, one of their main weapons, and with a single hit in his first eleven three-pointers, his confidence in his game diminished, while allowing his opponent -who also did not see a hoop from the perimeter- to continue dominating the crash without forcing his machinery too much.

A slight visitor improvement in defense, accompanied by several hits near the rim, lowered the disadvantage from nine to two points. The shooters appeared to have wet powder and the marker was moving at idle, with Obradoiro resisting and Real Madrid looking for better sensations in their game to get the duel back on track as soon as possible.

But only Vincent Poirier seemed to have clear ideas. The French pivot, author of eleven points in the second quarter, raised the difference for the first time above ten points two minutes before the break, to which an Obradoiro who seemed not to accuse the bad first part of Kassius Robertson managed to arrive with life after a last arreon (36-30, min 20).

The exchange of baskets continued after passing through the changing rooms. Real Madrid, after a 22-minute drought from goal, scored its first two triples with the signing of Fabien Causeur, although shortly after he saw how Walter Tavares committed his fourth foul and went to the bench earlier than planned. Doubts assailed the whites, who could not counteract the defense raised by Moncho Fernández.

A triple by Álex Suárez and a 2 + 1 action by Scrubb tightened the score to the maximum and they forced Pablo Laso to stop the game, who could not find solutions to the offensive jam of his players. In the next action, Argentine Fernando Zurbriggen put the Santiago team ahead many minutes later by finishing a 0-11 run.

The last ten minutes were tied at 51 points after a triple mark from Sergio Llull's house on the horn that anticipated what would come next. The Balearic, unprecedented until then, took the reins of the game and returned the waters to its course with five quick points, well supported by Rudy Fernández and Williams-Goss, who gave their team the maximum advantage in the middle of the last act (66 -55, min 35).

Moncho Fernández despaired in the band. Their two time-outs had no effect because the locals were already chasing the win and continued to complete their best quarter until the final 78-68. On Thursday, reigning continental champion Anadolu Efes awaits them in their Euroleague debut.