No letting down their guard or being over-confident. That’s the basic argument. Real Madrid comes back home in the European competition to play against Alba Berlin, the team in next to last place in the group in the Top 16 (8:45 p.m., Realmadrid TV). The white team continues to maintain their leadership and aspires to achieve their tenth consecutive win at home in the Euroleague against the German squad. The game against them is the start of a second round in which Real Madrid will play five out of seven games at the Palacio, a factor that everyone believes will have a positive influence on the results. Laso has all of his men except for Draper, who continues to recuperate from heel bursitis. Martynas Pocius will be on hand, as he was in the last League game. And young Alberto Martín is returning to the squad, the junior league point guard who already made his debut in La Liga and could also do so now in the Euroleague.
Basket Manresa was the balm. Having recuperated from the sensation, Real Madrid is hosting Alba Berlin at the Palacio in the first game of the second round of the Top 16. The white team returns to the Spanish capital with the firm intention of harvesting its tenth European victory as the home team. It seems that Laso’s men shouldn’t have any big problem, since the qualitative differences are evident. It’s enough to point out that Real Madrid leads the group, while the German team coached by Obradovik trails along in second-to-last place. The advantage is even more evident if you take a look at recent games, where the capital's team came out 4-0.
| PRE-GAME STATISTICS | |||||||||||||
| Team | Position | GP | GW | GL | PF | PA | Diff. | ||||||
| Real Madrid | 1º | 7 | 6 | 1 | 522 | 474 | +48 | ||||||
| Alba Berlín | 6º | 7 | 1 | 6 | 458 | 524 | -66 | ||||||
In spite of everything that seems to be going for the home team, who will also enjoy the support of their fans, being wary is now a regular part of Laso's pitch, trying to avoid a loss of concentration on the part of his players. That’s why the white squad will be waiting for Sasa Obradovik’s team with their senses sharpened and trying to put on a good defence from start to finish against a large and strong team that has already caused them problems in Berlin, especially on catching the rebounds. Special attention will therefore have to be given to their tall players, who are the most dangerous ones on the German team (Schultze, Miralles, and Thompson). It’s almost for sure that the new player, Ali Traore, who is replacing Brian Randle, will not be seen on the floor. Nevertheless, the Real Madrid centres will work overtime and will need the help of their teammates, especially on the rebound. That’s why Begic, Slaughter, Hettsheimeir, Reyes, and even Mirotic, in the jaws of Thompson, will have to be especially active. And check this: another player who didn’t play in Berlin and who will be at the Palacio is Djedovic, one of their best scorers, with an average of 19.3 points over the last three games, who will have to face Carroll, who racked up 13 points in Berlin, as did Rudy and Mirotic, with 15 by Llull.
A single man is out, Dontaye Draper, who continues to recover from heel bursitis and who will not be playing in this game, but it is hoped that he will be on hand for the Fuenlabrada game. Martynas Pocius will be on hand, after reappearing against Basket Manresa. It was the Lithuanian himself who spoke at the previous game about the difficulties and obstacles their rival may create. “It’s a team with many capable people playing inside. We have to be aware of that and be very alert, because Alba tends to do a lot of damage on the floor”. In spite of the strength of the inside game, the Lithuanian wing, like the rest of his teammates, knows that playing at the Palacio implies extra safety. This would be the tenth win at home in the European competition, but it would also be the first one in the second round, where five of the seven games will be played in front of their fans.
In Germany, Alba Berlin is preparing for an experience they can learn a lot from, according to what their own coach says. At the previous game he pointed out that, “Real Madrid continues to be the main favourite to hold first place in this group. Playing against them will be another good experience for us, since we’ll be able to learn something. We know that we won’t even be able to surprise this opponent with a magical tactic, because they have quality players in all positions, who could make up a good team on their own. For our part, we’re going to focus on correcting our mistakes from the first game”.
| STATS | |||||||||
| TEAM | PF | PA | REB | AS | BLOCKS | STEALS | TURNOVER | ||
| Real Madrid | 796 | 67,7 | 37,4 | 15,5 | 3,5 | 6,8 | 11,5 | ||
| Alba Berlín | 69,4 | 74,8 | 32,8 | 13,2 | 1,7 | 5,2 | 14,4 | ||
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