Real Madrid knock over Belgacom Spirou 100-76: Euroleague Basketball Recap
Real Madrid opened the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague in style by holding off Belgacom Spirou 100-76 on Thursday night at the Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium.
Felipe Reyes and Rudy Fernandez led Madrid with 19 points each. Reyes also grabbed a team -high nine rebounds and ended on 5 for 7 from free throw line. Jaycee Carroll was the other prominent player with 14 points, shooting 3 for
5 from three-point range.
"The first game of a competition is always very important. Tonight, I have many reasons to be satisfied.” “We played solid basketball from the beginning. I am happy for all my players; we played with a good efficiency. This was
a team victory and I feel we're on the right path – and ready for the next game," Real Madrid Head Coach Pablo Laso said.
Demond Mallet paced Spirou with a game-high 27 points and four assists. He said after the game;
"Madrid played at a good level tonight, but the final score is not the real difference between the two teams. A lot of people know we fight against tough teams. In a few games, we'll grow a lot in this competition. But to win games,
we'll need to be as good as Real was today. Our defense will be the key in the future."
Tornike Shengelia also tallied 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Despite missing some easy shots early in the first quarter, Real Madrid found its way to take an 18-10 lead with one minute to go in the quarter. Chris Hill hit a free throw while Justin Hamilton dunked to cut the margin to five.
However, Madrid stretched their lead back to eight points on Mirotic’s three-pointer. Mallet popped out to score from downtown to keep Spirou within striking distance, but Felipe Reyes answered with a lay-up to make it 23-16 after one.
Madrid stretched their lead to 10 points in the early minutes of the second quarter and maintained their hold on Belgacom for rest of the quarter, taking a 45-37 lead at halftime.
They then outscored Spirou 18-13 in the first seven minutes of third quarter and took a 63-50 lead. By the time, teams went into the last quarter, Real Madrid were leading by 69-55.
Real’s assault got even better in the last frame. The Spaniards completely ran through the fragile defence of Spirou and started their campaign with a 24 point romp.
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