The domestic rivals will face off knowing that a Final Four spot is on the line
Breakdown: Real Madrid vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Real Madrid was the last team to discover its opponent in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, but it now knows that it will take on Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in a best-of-five series starting on Tuesday.
Los Blancos closed the regular season at the top of the standings with a 27-7 record, while Baskonia finished eighth with an 18-16 mark, giving it two shots in the Play-In Showdown. Despite losing heavily on the road to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the first round of the play-in, Dusko Ivanovic’s group responded a few days later by beating Virtus Segafredo Bologna and thus setting up a series with Real Madrid.
Their playoff history
While Real Madrid last failed to make the EuroLeague Playoffs in the 2011-12 season, meaning it has reached the postseason in each of the last 11 campaigns (ignoring the 2019-20 season which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Real second in the standings with a 22-6 mark), Baskonia has returned to the playoffs after a five-year absence. The last time that Baskonia fans got to see their team feature in the playoffs was in the 2018-19 season.
To date, Real Madrid has gone 10-6 in its playoff series, which includes a first-round win in 2000-01 before losing in the quarterfinals. Its most recent series defeat coming against Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2020-21, but since then the Spanish giant has eliminated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2021-22) and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2022-23) on its way to the Final Four. In 60 postseason games in the EuroLeague this century, Real Madrid has posted a 35-25 record and reached the Final Four nine times, winning the championship three times.
For Baskonia, it is a different story. The 2000-01 season saw the Spanish club make it through the first round, the quarterfinals and the semifinals before losing to Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the EuroLeague Finals. It then returned to the championship game in the 2004-05 campaign, when it lost to Maccabi. Including its three series wins in 2000-01, Baskonia has gone 8-8 in its playoff series in the EuroLeague. However, it is 1-7 over its last eight series. Since the introduction of the Final Four format in 2002, the team from Vitoria-Gasteiz has made it to the Final Four five times: in four straight seasons between 2005 and 2008, then in 2015-16. Through 63 postseason games, Baskonia has a 29-34 record.
Facing a domestic opponent often adds another sense of intrigue to a playoff series, so how have Real Madrid and Baskonia done when they’ve faced a fellow Spanish foe in the EuroLeague Playoffs? Real Madrid has come up against Spanish opposition three times in the playoffs, winning one series and losing twice. FC Barcelona twice defeated Los Blancos 3-1 in playoff series, doing so in 2005-06 and 2009-10, while Real Madrid downed Valencia Basket 3-2 in 2010-11. Baskonia has only faced a Spanish team once in the EuroLeague Playoffs, losing 3-2 to Barcelona in 2008-09.
Real Madrid, Baskonia full of confidence
Real Madrid went 22-4 through the first 26 rounds of the regular season, but a three-game winning streak between Round 27 and 29 caused some to wonder if Chus Mateo’s squad might be fading at just the wrong time. However, a 5-1 end to the regular season resulted in Los Blancos quietening those doubts. Baskonia, meanwhile, got two big road wins to close the regular season and then responded to its first-round play-in loss to Maccabi by stepping up to beat Virtus on Friday night.
However, that one defeat for Real Madrid – and one of those road wins for Baskonia – came at WiZink Center as Coach Ivanovic’s men grabbed a 91-95 win against the reigning champs. Markus Howard tied his career high in points by dropping 35 on Los Blancos, and he’s coming off a game against Virtus in which he hit 8 three-pointers, including 4 in the third quarter to help Baskonia pull away. That win over Virtus and its recent triumph in the Spanish capital should mean that Baskonia comes into this series with a no-fear approach.
In fact, Baskonia holds a 10-8 advantage over Real Madrid in the all-time series between these two, and it has won on its last two trips to WiZink Center in the EuroLeague, having also secured an 81-85 triumph there in 2022-23. Baskonia has gone 3-1 against the reigning EuroLeague champion over the last two seasons, but the winning margin in those four games has never been more than six points: 92-86 and 81-85 to Baskonia in 2022-23, then 77-79 to Real Madrid and 91-95 to Baskonia in 2023-24.
Real Madrid and Baskonia know each other inside out, but it should be fascinating to see how the series develops. Make sure to catch all the action on EuroLeague TV, starting on Tuesday night at 21:00 CEST.