Campazzo avoids a fire at Real Madrid

• NACHO DUQUE

Updated 11/10/2024 – 14:34CET

Real Madrid was in a delicate situation, 62-63 against Dreamland Gran Canaria at the beginning of the last quarter. Tense moment coming from the worst game of the season, the one in Milan, and ruminating on all the away defeats. He couldn’t afford the first of the season at the WiZink Center. So Chus Mateo, who had given Campazzo and Tavares a break, returned them to the track. And the point guard, with the help of the center, won the game. It’s that simple.

There were 8:20 left to go. A basket, a forced offensive foul, an assist to Deck, a triple, more forced fouls, another triple, a wonderful layup after breaking the Canarian defense with 1:02 left, some last free throws… Basically, he did it all so that Madrid won 83-77 and avoided a new fire. Only in the last period he made 14 points without error and 17 with a rating. He finished with 20 and 33, respectively, in addition to nine assists.

Granca was unable to stop Campazzo, but few reproaches can be made against him. He had some advantage in each quarter, almost always at the beginning, he forced Madrid to row. Then the whites threatened to break up the duel, but their irregularity and the Canarian endurance forced that tight end. If the visitors held on with 14 turnovers at halftime, they were going to do so later as well, dominating the rebound (27-36) and having a good day in the triple: they came in with 31.8% this season and in the third quarter they came to enjoy a 7/13 with an inspired Brussino (17). This is what the Madridistas’ weak exterior defense has.

Madrid once again played in fits and starts, with individual sparks. He started off weak, without energy (6-14), and got hotter. Abalde appeared first (16 points) and then Ibaka (11) joined. They were important in the first Madrid rush, midway through the second quarter, with a run of 11-2 (32-26). Campazzo, around whom everything orbited, directed. But at half-time, Granca held on (39-36) thanks to its dominance of the boards (19-8) and despite the burden of losses (14).

The third quarter began with a three-point contest. Five in a row between the two teams to leave the locker room. Madrid emerged the winner with Rathan-Mayes who joined the party and scored seven points in that period. He left some of his best minutes as a Real Madrid player. The local advantage reached a maximum of eight points (55-47), but Hezonja’s shots going off script and two dunks missed in an incomprehensible way by Tavares meant that it did not go any further. The only basket by Alocén, somewhat tense on his return, made it 59-54 with the last quarter remaining.

There, after closing a 3-11 partial, the alarms went off in Madrid. At 62-63, Campazo was claimed. Once again it was his turn to rescue his team. And he did it. At the cost, of course, of playing a new minute: 33:29 while waiting for a Euroleague doubleheader. The dependence that white people have on him is absolute. And even more so on a day when Llull did not play, who did not leave the bench.

Technical sheet

83 – Real Madrid (17+22+20+24): Campazzo (20), Abalde (16), Hezonja (11), Ndiaye (3), Tavares (6), -starting five-, Llull (-), Ibaka (11), Hugo González (-), Deck (6), Rathan-Mayes (10).

77 – Dreamland Gran Canaria (16+20+18+23): Albicy (10), Thomasson (11), Brussino (17), Pelos (2), Tobey (6), -starting five-, Homesley (9), Shurna (6), Alocén (2), Salvó (7), Conditt (4), Diop (-) and Kljajic (3).

Referees: Javier Torres, Alberto Sánchez Sixto and Alberto Baena.

Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 7 of the Endesa League played at the WiZink Center before 8,076. spectators. In the preview, a minute of silence was held in memory of the victims of the Valencia Dana floods and the players wore t-shirts with the message ‘We are all Valencia’.