Real Madrid, Barcelona Still Perfect At Liga Endesa
Liga Endesa, the domestic Spanish basketball league, has completed five rounds of the 2018-19 regular season and only two teams remain undefeated. They are none other than El Clasico rivals, FC Barcelona Lassa (5-0) and Real Madrid (5-0). Both clubs have shown to be resilient and productive in the early goings of this fresh and young season. When these two Titans of Spanish hoops eventually cross paths expect it to be an epic encounter that will thrill and excite their loyal fans.
The round was closed out on October 21st with five games. FC Barcelona escaped a disaster by edging out tough opponents, Valencia basket 85-86. While Real Madrid had a much easier path to their victory over Rio Natura Monbus Obradoiro CAB, 73-86. Both road wins serve to fuel the massive momentum the leaders are enjoying in the domestic arena.
Real Madrid used their dominance on the boards to control the tempo of the game. They hauled in 41 rebounds to the 31 of Obradoiro. Ongjen Kuzmic led a balanced attack with 12 points. Andreas Obst spearheaded Obradoiro’s efforts with a 17-point game, doing most of his damage from 3-point range. At the end of the day, Real Madrid’s bench was able to keep a steady pressure on their hosts. Their reserves outscored Obradorio’s 43-31.
The game between Valencia and Barcelona was far more exciting. It went down the wire and Barcelona was the team that managed to retain their composure in the dying seconds of the game. Call it experience, or call it good coaching, perhaps even a combination that wound up being a recipe for a great winning cocktail they could toast to on their way back home.
Chris Singleton had the hot hand for Barca. He knocked down 5-of-6 shots from beyond the 3-point arc en route to his team-high 20 points. Valencia’s Matt Thomas did not make things easy. He matched Singleton shot-for-shot, and then some with 27 points of his own as well as six treys.
Jaka Blazic would be a key difference-maker for Barcelona as he made some key plays for his team to keep the game within reach.
Here are the rest of the results of Round 5 of the 2018-19 season at the Spanish Liga Endesa.
October 20th
Gran Canaria 106-80 Andorra
Manresa 87-96 Unicaja Malaga
Burgos 92-76 Breogan
Iberostar Tenerife 73-81 Estudiantes Madrid
October 21st
Zaragoza 77-80 Fuenlabrada
Joventut 88-64 Gipuzkoa
Baskonia 93-49 UCAM Murcia