Basketball, Euroleague: Milan falls in Madrid. Real wins the play-in clash 96-89

Madrid (Spain), 25 March 2025 – It closes with the second straight Euroleague knockout the cycle of three close European away matches of EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, which at the Wizink Center in Madrid loses 86-89 the direct clash for the play in against Real. Olimpia's strong-willed outbursts in the third quarter and at the end were not enough to catch up with Real who started with the fifth gear engaged. making the most of its greater size and energy (41-25 the rebound count in favor of Mateo's men), it actually led for the entire 40' but without however dealing a real knockout blow. So much so that Milan finally managed to reopen the game and above all to save at least the basket difference in the double confrontation. The most important signatures on the Blancos' success were thought of by Walter Tavares, author of 21 points and 5 rebounds despite being limited by fouls for a long time, and Dzanan Musa, who closed with 19 points. On the EA7 Milano front, which started with the handbrake on and a somewhat comforting 0/10 in three-point shooting, the double figures of four players, led by Nikola Mirotic (19 points), were not enough.

Race report

Just as already happened in Paris, Olimpia starts with a false start: the approach of the red and whites is in fact too soft in the face of a Real Madrid that on the contrary dominates in terms of physicality and intensity, thanks above all to a Tavares who calls the shots under the boards. The Cape Verdean center turns out to be a thorn in the side of the Olimpia defense that shoots blanks from beyond the arc (0/6 from three in the first 10') and in just over 7' slips to -15 (24-9). When Tavares is forced to return to the bench with two fouls committed, Milan tries to get back on track, getting back to -10 (24-14), but in the final straight of the quarter Real finds brilliance thanks to Bruno Fernando and Musa, closing the fraction with 31 points and a reassuring +15 (31-16).

Everything to do again, therefore, for Milan who at the start of the second half tries to change pace by attacking the Madrid defense better and nibbling away precious points from the opponent's advantage (31-21). A comeback stopped again by the triple of Lllull, Musa and Feliz which bring the “Blanco” advantage back up to 15 points (45-30). The first Milan bomb is instead sent to the target after ten errors by Nico Mannion, who tries to reawaken the red and whites who, not without difficulty, with 45” to go before the interval come back to -10 (51-41). Right at the buzzer, however, comes the cold shower: from a distance and with the help of the scoreboard, in fact, Llull has the score at half time was set at 54-41. After the break, Tavares is back among the “Meregues” who pushes his team to a new maximum advantage of 58-61, but on the other side there is LeDay who scores a triple that is decidedly balmy for EA7, who roars with pride and in a flash even gets back into single digit deficit (58-50). Garuba from the arc tries to repel the red and white assault, but Real runs out of foul bonus in just three minutes and finds itself having to deal with a Mirotic who suddenly lights up and scores nine points in a row for -4 (63-59). However, when the Montenegrin with Spanish passport is called to the bench to catch his breath and Real deploys the formation with Ezonja with four and Tavares with five, the inertia of the match changes once again: the “Blancos” quickly regained ground, returning to +14 at the end of a 9-0 partial (75-61).

A safety margin that grows by a further length at the end of the third quarter (78-63) and that makes things easier for the home team, who at the dawn of the fourth quarter reaches +18 on Musa's triple (81-63) and then - albeit with a bit of superficiality and a few too many forcings - manages yet another generous attempt to come back by Milan who, on the wings of Brooks, author of three triples in a row, he gets back to -7 with 1'45” to go but is unable to push further. The good news for Italy comes from the Basketball Champions League FIBA ​​where Unahotels Reggio Emilia beats Petkim Sport 77-70 and reaches a historic qualification for the quarterfinals. The stars of the Emilian red and whites were Jaylen Barford (15 points), Cassius Winston (14 points and 5 assists) and Jamar Smith (12 points).