The Spanish powerhouse is one step closer to its clear goal since the season started – to repeat as EuroLeague champion.
Reigning champ Real Madrid is first to the playoffs!
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An unprecedented start to the season has led to Real Madrid punching the first ticket to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs earlier than any other club.
The defending champions made sure they will return to the playoffs with a 74-89 road win over Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Friday night to amass a 23-6 record with five games left in the regular season.
If by qualifying in Round 29 Real hasn't quite matched the fastest arrival to the playoffs by any team in a 34-game regular season, in previous years the race was for eight spots, making mathematical qualification easier. This year, with just six guaranteed spots due to the new Play-In Showdown, teams need to clinch a spot in the top six to be assured of reaching the best-of-five playoffs.
Real's next goal will be to clinch a top-four finish to guarantee itself home-court advantage in the playoffs.
The champs took off early
Head coach Chus Mateo's charges have taken direct aim at a title repeat from the get-go this season, only missing a 17-0 start in the regular season's first lap by a single point on a last-gasp turnover in overtime on the road. Otherwise, Real was flawless in the 2023 half of the regular season, winning 16 games by an average of 13.8 points.
Since then, Real has gone 9-5, including a 130-126 victory in the longest EuroLeague game ever, featuring four overtimes, against Anadolu Efes Istanbul; a 96-86 home win vs. Valencia Basket after one overtime; and a 106-101 shootout home victory against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
Real won its first 14 home games, matching its longest such streak in the EuroLeague this century, but was beat there twice in a row by double digits before alighting in Bologna to seal its playoff spot.
Huge playoff experience
Of course, Real will go into the playoffs, which start on April 23, with a wealth of postseason experience. Real will participate in the best-of-five playoffs for a 10th consecutive season, having broken through to the Final Four in seven of the previous nine occasions, including all six when it held home-court advantage.
Last season, Real became the first team ever to overcome a 0-2 deficit to survive a playoff series when it won the last three games against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
Besides returning 12 players who proceeded to win the EuroLeague title last season, Real has multiple EuroLeague champions in Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez, who've lifted the continental trophy three times each, as well as Facundo Campazzo, Fabien Causeur and Walter Tavares, who have done so twice each.
With home-court advantage in its sights already, Real's subsequent goal will be to finish in first place, the position it has held throughout the season. Should that happen, even though it has been the first qualifier, Real will be the last team to learn its playoff opponent, which will only happen after the final game of the Play-In Showdown on April 19, four days before the playoffs are set to start.