The backcourt duo were key players in Los Blancos' 2017-18 EuroLeague title success under the Spanish coach.
Sergio Llull, Facu Campazzo reminded Pablo Laso of Real Madrid’s past glory
Article
3 Minute de lecture
Bayern Munich head coach Pablo Laso returned to WiZink Center with high hopes of pulling off what would have amounted to a stunning upset of his former club Real Madrid, but his homecoming was spoiled by a pair of veterans who rolled back the years.
Sergio Llull produced a stellar performance at the ripe young age of 36 and 32-year-old Facundo Campazzo also stood out as Real engineered an 88-73 win, improving to 13-1 in a rampant start to the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season while Bayern dropped to 6-8.
A meeting of old friends
Laso, who coached Real between 2011 and 2022, was given a standing ovation by the home fans before and after the game, having captured the 2014-15 and 2017-18 EuroLeague titles with Lull and Campazzo in their prime. He also won six Spanish league titles and as many Spanish Cups, before a serious health issue forced the 56-year-old to make way for his successor and assistant of eight years, Chus Mateo.
It would have been a perfect first return to Madrid for Laso, having then been appointed by Bayern during the off-season following a one-season break. However, Llull and Campazzo made sure there was only going to be one outcome.
Llull and Campazzo came to the fore
Llull paced Real with 16 points and Campazzo added 14, the bulk of them in the third quarter when Bayern’s challenge was still very much alive, with the former making it clear in no uncertain terms what Laso’s mentorship had meant to him.
“It was strange in the beginning, but it was beautiful,” Llull said in a flash post-game interview as he walked off the court. “The fans gave him a standing ovation and he deserved it. He taught me a lot of things about basketball and life. I love him but we had a game to play this evening and we’re happy for the win,” he added.
Laso, for his part, conceded that the ruthless Real Madrid of his own making was just too good for his present team, although he praised Bayern’s effort.
“Real will punish you for every mistake,” he commented. “We didn’t commit many, but we committed enough for them to win. We did a good job at both ends of the floor in some situations, but we’re talking about a great team here. They are the best team in the EuroLeague right now.”
Mateo urged his players not to get carried away in order to keep reproducing the kind of form which has set Real apart from the rest of the field in Europe’s premier club basketball competition.
“We played much better in the second half, as we shared the ball well,” he said. “We had only 5 assists in the first half and we also had better shooting percentages after the break. We need to keep doing what we are doing, which is running and finding our rhythm. We have to keep working on a daily basis and take it one game at a time.”