In an entertaining Mini Cup for good basketball, the Real Madrid children’s team (born in 2008) qualified for the final after beating Coosur Betis 90-86 in an exciting final after a comeback from Seville. Puerto Rican Felipe Quiñones, a 1.91 m forward, once again completed a great game: 26 points (9 of 18 from two and 8 of 11 free throws), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 recoveries, also 6 turnovers, and 3 blocks for 34 PIR. The day before he had scored 37 points and 50 credits in the win against Joventut (62-85) and had suffered a slight sprain.
On Thursday, Madrid had beaten Manresa (43-74) and on Wednesday in the debut against Cajasiete Canarias by a very tight 63-62. So the team led by David Sánchez reaches the final undefeated, which will be the tenth in a row for the Whites after the 2020 defeat against Barça, the last edition held, and of the seven titles in a row between 2013 with Doncic and 2019. The seven that allow him to lead the list of winners ahead of Barça (6) and Joventut (4). Both placed third in each of the two groups and missed out on the semi-finals.
Quiñones plays at the Bridgewater School in Florida and participates in this Mini Cup as a guest of Madrid, although the club has negotiations underway to try to get him to join the academy as a scholarship player. He stands out for his speed with great body control to enter the basket, a very low bounce, ability to mark the steps, a good jump, a wide stride and a very good finish. A lot of talent and a lot of evolution ahead, of course. Remember that they are all 13 and 14 year olds.
In the merengue rows, Máximo Haro (1.84 m) and Marcos Zurita (1.88) contributed 12 points each. At Coosur Betis, sensational performance by point guard Ricardo Castilla (1.72) with 30 points, 16 rebounds, 7 steals and a PIR of 37. And Mouhamadou Doucoure, a two-meter pivot who did 13+11. Betis, who were down 17 with 14 minutes to go (62-45), even had a shot to take the lead and with 1:30 to go they were 86-84.
Madrid’s rival in the final this Sunday (1:00 p.m., Palacio de Deportes de Granada) will come from the winner of the Valencia Basket-Cajasiete Canarias, which has been taking place since 1:30 p.m.