The Frenchman helped Los Blancos get off to a dominant start in Istanbul.
Yabusele gave Real Madrid the hot start it needed at Efes
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Big games call for big performances by big players, and Guerschon Yabusele certainly rose to the occasion as Real Madrid beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul 80-103 in Round 2 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
Yabusele came out of the gates absolutely on fire with a first quarter for the ages, as he helped set the tone for what proved to be a blowout win.
With the game tied 5-5 early, the French forward drained 3 three-pointers in a span of 76 seconds to help Real start to pull away. One week ago in Round 1, Yabusele had knocked down 4 three-pointers and scored 18 points as Los Blancos downed Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 77-79. And he really gave his side a strong push in the early going in Istanbul.
Yabusele did his damage early
Yabusele added a three-point play and 2 free throws as he scored 14 straight points for the reigning EuroLeague champion. The 27-year-old added 2 more free throws later in the quarter to move to 16 first-quarter points, while he also had 5 rebounds in the opening 10 minutes, giving him a PIR of 24.
“I was just trying to get the rhythm going and make my teammates feel great,” Yabusele said about his hot start to the game.
The flow of Real's offense saw other players get hot, and Yabusele added 2 free throws at the end of the first half. And he would pick up 4 more points in the third quarter to finish with 22 points, 3 points off his career high.
Yabusele said his own production didn’t mean anything to him.
“I am not looking at my personal stats. I am just trying to win the game, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Yabusele helped Real win the EuroLeague crown last season with a solid 9.7 points to go with 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists. The Frenchman has already shown after two games this season that he is ready to do more for the team, and that he is more than capable of doing that.