Reigning champ Real can become the first team to qualify for the Final Four by prevailing at Baskonia, which needs to win twice this week at Buesa Arena to force a decider.
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid: 'We approach this game as if we were 0-0 in the series'
Seasons
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Playoffs
Game 3
Playoffs
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Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizBKN
98102
Real MadridRMB
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Overview
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Baskonia has to find a way of stopping a Real offense which has run riot in the opening two games, scoring 90 and 101 points led by the playmaking of Facu Campazzo with averages of 17 points and 5 assists, with just 1 turnover, in the series so far.
If the game becomes another shootout, Baskonia will again lean heavily on the long-range shooting of Markus Howard, who was held to below average scores of 15 and 12 points in the first two games.
But Real can also easily dominate inside, as it showed in Game 2 with Vincent Poirier, Walter Tavares and Guerschon Yabusele combining for 36 points, 21 rebounds and blocked shots in Game 2. So Dusko Ivanovic’s team will need to play a complete game – led by the all-round threat of Codi Miller-McIntyre and the rebounding of Tadas Sedekerskis – to keep the series alive.
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid head coach
"We approach this game as if we were 0-0 in the series. We know we have not accomplished anything yet and the Buesa Arena is one of the most complicated sites in Europe, because Baskonia fans are always givoing their support. Baskonia has many offensive resources, a great scoring ability, so the only think I ask of my players is constant focus and paying attention. We must be aware that Games 1 and 2 are in the past and now we have to face another game."
Gabriel Deck, Real Madrid player
"The team has been very concentrated in the first two games of the series. We have tried to limit their most dangerous players, top-level players with lots of experience, but we also focused on our game, always trying to find the best option. We hope we keep on playing that way in Game 3. We cannot afford thinking about the last two games, because now we are going to a difficult court and Baskonia will give it their all. We must face this game as if it was the first game of the series."