Major surprise in Badalona: Real Madrid was eliminated in the semifinals by Unicaja, the same team that eliminated Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and leaves the Copa del Rey without any of the two highest representatives of Spanish basketball in the final. You have to go back to 2009 to see a game for the Cup title without whites or blaugranas. That year, by the way, the people from Malaga also played in the final, in this case against Baskonia, in a confrontation resolved in extra time in favor of the people from Vitoria (98-100). An anomaly that is repeated 14 years later and that has been possible thanks to the exhibition of those from Ibon Navarrotouched by a magic wand and absolutely emboldened on their way to the title, which in case of winning it would be the second in history after the one won in 2005.
The reasons for the elimination of Real Madrid are many and varied. The problems in the launch and in the rebound have been constant, as well as the defeat in the rebound, one of the best qualities of the white team. If we add to that the physical problems and the difficulties they have in the base position (be careful with this for the remainder of the season), the early goodbye to the cup tournament has palpable and tangible explanations.
A shooting disaster
Real Madrid leaves Badalona with a poor 8 of 48 in triples. A huge slab in two consecutive games that was about to mean elimination against Valencia and ended up condemning them against Unicaja, where they signed a 3 of 21. In addition, They did not know how to defend the intelligent movement of the ball that caused the extraordinary rival attacks: 14 of 27 for the Malaga team. And the thing does not end there: the free kicks have been another bad experience for the white attack. Madrid have taken a combined 68 free kicks from 41 of their opponents, 27 more from personal shots and 20 more than Valencia in the quarterfinals, prompting complaints from Álex Mumbrú after the clash. An advantage that the white team has not taken advantage of, which has missed 22 of those shots. Deck’s 16 attempts (13 hits) and Tavares’ 13 (8) are the maximum for Chus Mateo’s squadwhich has not known how to be regular enough in this regard.
the base post
Still without Carlos Alocén and with the farce around Facundo Campazzo still making background noise (and how long it will take to go away), Real Madrid already has a problem in the point guard position that has clearly intensified in the Cup, where Sergio Llull’s injury left Sergio Rodríguez and Nigel Williams-Goss the only pure point guards. The absence of Alberto Abalde, who was not called up in either of the two games, has left Chus Mateo without a resource and with too much responsibility for El Chacho against Unicaja (16 minutes) and minutes full of ups and downs for Williams-Goss: only 9 points against Malaga. Adam Hanga has played some minutes in that position, but there is an obvious lack of creativity in the team that has carried over worryingly in the Cup and that has harmed the circulation of the ball and the number of assists for the team: 14 in the quarterfinals to 17 for Valencia and 9, a pyrrhic figure, to Unicaja’s 21 in the semifinals.
physical problems
Madrid arrived without the injured Carlos Alocén and received the hard blow of losing Sergio Llull because of his left knee in the quarterfinal tie. If we add to that the situation of Rudy Fernández (out of rhythm due to the different ailments he has suffered this season, just 4 seconds played in the entire Cup) and the blows that Dzanan Musa and Edy Tavares received, involuntarily, during the semifinals (and in the final stretch of the game), the rotation has been left short and without possibilities to innovate, find solutions and give the team new options when they are most available. needed.
What happened to the rebound?
Madrid won the rebound against Valencia (45-35), but had a fateful day (it was in every way, but in this one too) in that section against Unicaja. And not because of the difference in catches, higher for the Malaga team (25-34)but because of the impossibility of Real Madrid to attack one of the rival’s weak points, which reached the Copa del Rey with the important losses of Augusto Lima and Yankuba Sima, their two fives. Dylan Osetkowski and David Kravish handcuffed the whites, with 14 points from the first and 20, with 6 rebounds, from the second. And although Tavares produced points under the basket (19 points), he barely caught two rejections and did not display his usual dominance.. One more reason for Real Madrid to have said goodbye to the Cup ahead of time.