The Royal Club has beat CSKA 92-83 in the duel of two of the most successful European clubs so far. This was also the confrontation of the two best attacks of this year's EuroLeague season. The match started well for the Moscow-based team, who had been the best in the regular part of the competition. In the first quarter, Real's defence was poor, failing to stop Cory Higgins, who contributed 12 of his final 15 points in the first ten minutes, and CSKA led with 30-20 after the first quarter. But in the second part, Real managed to catch up with a series of 3-pointers. At the time, Luka Dončić was not on the floor, after having contributed the only 3-point shot for Madrid in the first quarter, while in the second ten minutes, Spanish basketball players were successful six times from beyond the line.
Even in the second half, when Real made a minor partial positive outcome with better defence, Dončić was on the bench, but he and his teammate Sergio Llull still managed to become the team’s best shooters, both with 16 points. In crucial moments, Dončić took responsibility and commanded the Madrid game in a relatively quiet finish. "I think that we have done our job well, especially in the defence, and it was crucial that we restricted Sergio Rodriguez so he didn’t shoot and play too actively. Another difficult match awaits us. Our opponent has a great team, an excellent coach and very loud fans," pointed out Dončić, who also added seven jumps to his statistics, and finished the match with a statistical index of 18, also ranking highest in Real together with Gustavo Ayon and Trey Thompkins.
Randolph: Dončić makes everyone around better
Dončić played in the style of this season, which is excellent, but last year the plans did not work out at the final tournament, and he left the Final Four disappointed. "I have said many times that I learned a lot in Istanbul last year, which is showing now. I am better prepared and much more confident," said the young Slovenian, who will play the second big finale this season in Istanbul, where he and his national team became EuroBasket champions last September: "This is really incredible, and if we manage to win this, too, the season will be perfect. First we managed to win the title with the national team, and now we are also close with Real. It’s something truly special. "
Anthony Randolph, the other Slovenian representative at Real Madrid, can achieve the same thing. The American with Slovenian passport did not play a visible role this time. He only spent nine minutes on the court and scored once. As he said after the match, the players of Real perfectly carried out the coach's plan for the match. Randolph added that he is glad that Dončić is his team colleague because this is "what he does at his age is incredible". "Everything he does looks quite simple and he makes around him better on the floor." Before the final match, Luka is scheduled to attend a ceremonious event on Saturday evening, where he will receive prizes for the best young basketball player in the league and for his ranking among the top five of the competition. Perhaps he will also “crown” the season with the prestigious prize for the MVP of the regular part. Last but not least, he was statistically the most effective individual of this season, what proves the kind of an imprint he has made, is constant media presence and all the attention he receives at every step.
