Real Madrid defeated Granada on their home court by 94:80 in the 32nd round of the Liga Endesa, securing their 27th win.
Granada managed to keep up with the current European champions in the first 10 minutes. However, in the second quarter, Real Madrid stepped up their offense and built a solid lead of 51:42 by halftime. Chus Mateo’s team continued in the same rhythm in the third quarter, completely breaking Granada’s resistance. The only thing the visitors managed to do was to slightly reduce the lead of the “royal club” in the final part of the game, leaving the final score at a reasonable +14 for the home team.
Real Madrid was led to win by Alberto Abalde and Dzanan Musa, each with 14 points, while young Eli Ndiaye contributed 13 points. In the visiting team, Malik Dime was the top scorer with 14 points, followed by Cristiano Felicio with 12.
Madrid took full advantage of Unicaja’s slip-up in the previous round against Tenerife, so they now stand alone in first place with 27 wins and five losses. Granada sits at nine wins and 23 losses, and they will fight hard to avoid relegation until the end of the season.
In the next round, Real Madrid will visit Valencia, while Granada will once again play away, this time against Zaragoza.
In the second game of the same round, Zaragoza defeated Manresa at home by 90:80.
In this game, the home team attempted an incredible 48 free throws but only made 27 of them. With this loss, Manresa has significantly complicated their playoff hopes, as Baskonia will have the chance to equalize with them in the standings later in the day with a win. Additionally, the Basque team has a better head-to-head record against Manresa.
Santiago Yusta led Zaragoza with 18 points, while former Buducnost player and Canadian national team representative Trae Bell-Haynes had an excellent game with 15 points and 9 assists. In the visiting team, Brancou Badio and Dani Garcia were the top scorers with 14 points each.