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Real Madrid's old masters inspired record comeback

Real Madrid's old masters inspired record comeback

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Real Madrid's old masters inspired record comeback

Real Madrid made history in Wednesday night’s sensational Game 5 playoffs battle with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. In fact, it made history twice…once for all the wrong reasons, and once again for all the right reasons.

In the first half, Real had few defensive answers for Partizan’s relentless attack and went into the interval facing a 39-55 deficit. That set a new unwanted record for the most points ever allowed by Real in any half of a playoff game, while Partizan conversely enjoyed its own club record for the most points it had scored over 20 minutes in the playoffs.

The deficit grew larger after the break, reaching a maximum of 18 points as Partizan led 41-59 with just under 18 minutes to play. Things then slowly started to change, as Dzanan Musa, Mario Hezonja and Adam Hanga led a 9-1 run to get their fans in a frenetic Wizink Center hoping again. But Partizan responded, with Kevin Punter, Dante Exum and Zach LeDay all sinking triples, and the margin was still 15 points (60-75) towards the end of the third quarter.

For Real, there was one remaining hope: it was time for the old guard to take over. Enter Sergio Rodriguez, Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez, with a combined age of 109 and a combined total of 1,066 EuroLeague appearances.

El Chacho, the mercurial playmaker Rodriguez, was the chief orchestrator. Coming off the bench with just 3 points to his name, he dished an assist to Musa, made a steal and struck a three-pointer to help pull his team closer before the end of the third period. And in the fourth, he was just unstoppable: a layup, a defensive rebound, a three-pointer, an offensive rebound, a couple of fouls drawn, another three-pointer, another layup…and that was in just 2 and a half minutes. He kept on going – scoring, distributing, controlling the tempo, exuding a sense of complete control and making everyone on both benches believe that Real was going to win the game. As it duly did.

Rodriguez finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and – crucially, emphasizing his control – 0 turnovers for a PIR of 26, and a game-high plus/minus of +16. But he wasn’t alone, because his old comrades Llull and Fernandez were right by his side throughout the fourth quarter.

Llull scored 8 points including a trademark ‘mandarina’ three-pointer to make it 95-87 with less than 3 minutes remaining, a moment which raised the roof and visibly reduced Partizan’s morale to rubble. And although Fernandez did not score a point and only took one shot, his endless energy and hustle – at the age of 38! – epitomized the team’s never-say-die attitude, most spectacularly when he made a diving save that allowed Rodriguez to score a three-pointer in transition and get the fans on their feet towards the end of the third quarter.

“These players gave us a lesson of courage and fight of how to overcome adversity and how to come back from a 0-2 with two wins in Belgrade and winning Game 5 here, making history,” Coach Chus Mateo said speaking of his entire team, but of course those words refer to the veteran trio as much as to any player.

In the end, that 41-59 deficit was turned into a 98-94 victory, giving Real the biggest comeback in its playoff history and the third-highest achieved by any club. One record (most points allowed) had been turned into another (biggest playoffs comeback), and the most Blancos of Blancos, the old three amigos, the classic trio, the timeless icons, Rodriguez, Llull and Fernandez, had once again been the inspiration.