2006-07Regular SeasonRound 10
January 16, 2007 CET: 18:30
Local time: 18:30 MONS.HAINAUT

Real Madrid became the Group D winner and will enter the ULEB Cup elimination rounds as a top-seeded team by simply overwhelming Dexia Mons-Hainaut 76-96 on the road on Tuesday. Madrid finished the regular season with a 7-3 record and joined a three-way tie with Unics Kazan and Crvena Zvezda top the Group D standings. Tie-break procedures applied and higher cumulative score difference in head-to-head games between all tied teams made the difference. Madrid was first (2-2, +17), Unics second (2-2, +9) and Zvezda third (2-2, -26). Marko Tomas led the winners with 22 points on 5-of-7 three-pointers. Axel Hervelle added 21, Charles Smith 15 and Edu Hernandez-Sonseca 12 for Madrid. Kevin Houston had 21 points for Mons while Yemi Nicholson added 14. Mons stayed in the game early and a layup by Nicholson brought the hosts within 19-22. It didn't last long, as Louis Bullock fired in 3 triples while Smith, Hervelle and Raul Lopez also scored from downtown in a mamooth 2-28 run which sealed the outcome, 21-50, even before halftime. Tomas opened the third quarter with 3 consecutive three-pointer, as Madrid boosted its margin to 33-70 and never looked back.

George Evans got Mons going with a layup, but a Sonseca and Smith gave Madrid a 2-5 lead. Sonseca shined with a dunk, but Nicholson bettered it with a three-point play to tie the game, 5-5. Once again Smith and Sonseca combined for all points in a 0-7 run which forced Mons to call timeout, 5-12. Evans tried to change things with a layup, but Sonseca and Tomas scored twice in transition for a 7-16 Madrid lead. Houston hit free throw and Nicholson scored off a steal, but Sonseca took over with a dunk-plus-foul. Dragan Markovic and Houston hit consecutive triples, but Tomas answered from downtown and Felipe Reyes added a second-chance layup. By the time Lopez beat the buzzer with a big triple, Madrid led 19-28 after 10 minutes. Madrid broke the game early in the second quarter, as Reyes scored inside, Nedzad Sinanovic dunked it while Bullock stroke twice from downtown to make it a 19-point game, 19-38. Mons called timeout, but Smith fired in another triple which capped a mamooth 0-19 run for a 19-41 lead. The hosts went scoreless for 5 minutes until Nicholson got a put-back basket, but Hervelle and Bullock combined for 8 points in another 0-9 run which boosted Madrid's lead to 21-50. Mathias Desaever followed a jumper with a triple, but Smith dunked it, Kerem Tunceri nailed a three-pointer and Hervelle added 6 points for a 33-point Madrid lead, 28-61, at halftime.

Niels Marnegrave and Tomas exchanged three-pointers right after the break. Houston tried to ignit a Mons comeback with a jumper, but a red hot Tomas stroke twice from downtown to make it a 37-point game, 33-70. Marnegrave made free throws, as Mons tried to power the boards nor for second-chance options. Even with that, Hervelle dunked it and a had a big block on Bingo Merriex to keep Madrid focused in defense. He soon added one from downtown, but Desaever, Houston and a three-pointer by Merriex got Mons within 48-78 after three quarters. Madrid opted to rest its main players in the final period, allowing Mons to carry on with its rally. Evans and Merriex scored again but Smith buried Madrid's 14th three-pointer of the night to silence the crowd. Houston stepped up with 10 unanswered points in a 12-0 Mons run which Merriex capped with a layup, but only brought the hosts within 61-82 midway through the final period. Everything was said and done by then, as Madrid entered the elimination rounds as one of the top candidates to win it all, while Dexia Mons finished its first-ever ULEB Cup appearance with the ambition to return next season.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007
ULEBCup.com
No results found.
Referees: ROCHA, FERNANDO; LEPETIC, NIKOLA; ZURAPOVIC, ADEMIR
Attendance: 3500
By Quarter1234
Dexia Mons1992028
Real Madrid28311720
End of Quarter1234
Dexia Mons19284876
Real Madrid28597696
Dexia Mons
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 BAVCEVIC, MARIN 4:30                              
5 BAUWENS, THOMAS 1:30 2 1/1                     1   1
6 DESAEVER, MATHIAS 25:30 9 2/6 1/1 2/2 1 1 2 3 1 2     3 1 7
7 HOUSTON, KEVIN 34:30 21 4/12 2/6 7/7 1 4 5 2 5     3 3 6 21
8 EVANS, GEORGE 28:30 6 3/6     2   2 3   4     3   1
9 MERRIEX, BINGO 15:45 9 2/3 1/3 2/3 3 2 5 1 1     1 1 3 13
10 ROGERS, SHAWNTA 16:15     0/2           1 4     1 1 -5
11 MARKOVIC, DRAGAN 13:00 8 1/1 2/2     1 1 2   1     2   8
12 NDOYE, MOUSTAPHA 1:45           1 1     1          
13 MARNEGRAVE, NIELS 19:00 7   1/3 4/4   1 1 2 3 2     4 3 8
14 POTTER, JIM 5:00                   1     2   -3
15 NICHOLSON, YEMI 34:45 14 6/14   2/3 4 7 11   3 3 3 2 2 2 17
Team                   1           1
Totals 200:00 76 19/43 7/17 17/19 11 17 28 13 15 18 3 6 22 16 69
        44.2% 41.2% 89.5%
Head coach: BAVCEVIC, NIKSA
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 NGUEMA, RICHARD 1:45               1 1           2
7 SMITH, CHARLES 27:00 15 3/4 3/6   1 3 4 5 3 4     4 1 16
8 MARTIN, JAN 1:45                              
9 REYES, FELIPE 11:45 5 2/4   1/3 2 2 4 1   1     1 3 7
16 HERNANDEZ-SONSECA, EDU 22:30 12 5/6   2/3 1 2 3 1 1 4 2 1 1 3 14
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 30:15 21 7/9 2/2 1/3   5 5 6 5   2 1 3 6 37
19 TUNCERI, KEREM 18:15 5 1/1 1/6     3 3 5   2   1 1 1 5
21 SINANOVIC, NEDZAD 15:30 3 1/2   1/2   4 4 1 1   2   3 3 9
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 21:45 9   3/7   1 2 3 1 3           12
24 LOPEZ, RAUL 20:00 4   1/2 1/2       2   4     1 3 2
33 TOMAS, MARKO 29:30 22 3/3 5/7 1/2 1 2 3 3   2     2 2 23
Team                                
Totals 200:00 96 22/29 15/30 7/15 6 23 29 26 14 17 6 3 16 22 127
        75.9% 50% 46.7%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BAVCEVIC, NIKSA
Dexia Mons
"Maybe it was a plesant game for the spectators, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m not glad because some players played walking during the first two quarters. We couldn’t give a good response to our hosts in playing such a game, and after that my players improved their way of play, especially with the young players who took their chance. Congratulations to Real Madrid which is a very strong team in all aspects, and I think that the Spanish team will go far in the competition."
PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"Since the beginning of 2007, we play a very good basketball, and in the Spanish League, nobody can stop my team. That's the reason why I was afraid before coming in Mons against a team which was able to put us into problems, especially because there was no pressure. Happily, we entered very well in the game, and with Hernandez, Hervelle, and also Smith, we were dominating our hosts in all aspects, taking more rebounds, and giving a lot of assists, 16 I think. When the difference was made in the first half, it remained just to stay at the same level, but it was impossible to do so, and that situation proved good to Mons. Now, we finish at the first place, and we can wait for the future with confidence."

Players

MARNEGRAVE, NIELS
Dexia Mons
“When the coach decided to give me a chance, I tried first to think that the opponent was a team like another one I met every week. It wasn't very easy to play against a player like Raul Lopez, but I thought there was no pressure on my shoulders, and I had all to win in taking that opportunity against Real Madrid, one of the biggest teams in Europe. Now, I hope to continue my progression."
HERVELLE, AXEL
Real Madrid
"I was very happy to come back in Belgium for a ULEB Cup game, and also to meet the coach of Mons, who I knew very well from Pepinster. As far as the game is concerned, I think our first half was perfect, and our hosts were unable to follow the rhythm. Now, we have reached a part of our purposes, that's to say finish at the first place, but we want to join the Euroleague as soon as possible, and we're on the way to do it. Despite the two defeats in the beginning of the competition, the coach had it all well calculated, and for us, all is good on each purpose."
No results found.