2006-07QuarterfinalsGame 1
Crvena Zvezda 72
Real Madrid 83
February 27, 2007 CET: 18:00
Local time: 18:00 HALA PIONIR

Real Madrid defeated Crvena Zvezda 72-81

Real Madrid took an important step towards reaching the ULEB Cup semifinals for the second time in club history by beating Crvena Zvezda 72-83 in front of a sellout crowd at Pionir Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, in the first leg of the two-way quarterfinals series on Tuesday night. Madrid now takes an 11-point lead in the series to the Spanish capital for the second leg. Madrid is unbeaten in 17 home games in both the Spanish League and the ULEB Cup this season. Louis Bullock led the winners with 22 points. Felipe Reyes posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Charles Smith added 15 for Madrid. Milan Gurovic had 18 points for Zvezda and Tadija Dragicevic added 16 for the hosts. Raul Lopez and Reyes combined for all the points in a 0-10 run that gave Madrid a 44-45 edge at halftime. Madrid improved its defense after the break, while Smith and an outstanding Bullock broke the game open and gave the guests a decisive lead in the series.

Nenad Misanovic scored inside on Zvezda's first possession, but Axel Hervelle matched it with a dunk. Dragicevic struck from downtown and Gurovic scored his first basket to give the hosts a 7-2 lead. Bullock stepped up with a three-pointer, fed Hervelle for a layup and then scored back-to-back baskets to give the visitors their first lead, 9-11. Steven Markovic fed Gurovic for his second dunk to get the crowd even more involved, but Blagota Sekulic hit a mid-range jumper for an 11-13 Madrid edge. Dragicevic fired in a triple only to see Hervelle score in the middle to provide another lead change, 14-15. Dragicevic followed free throws with a dunk, and even when Felipe Reyes scored in the low post, Gurovic and Igor Milosevic gave Zvezda a 21-20 edge. Vuk Radivojevic and Smith traded baskets to fix the score at 23-22 after 10 minutes.

Smith followed free throws with a three-pointer for a 25-27 Madrid edge early in the second quarter. Gurovic buried one from downtown and Petar Popovic scored in the paint, but a reverse layup by Milic got Madrid within 30-29. Popovic scored inside, but Smith banked in a mid-range jumper. Mirko Kovac stepped up with a corner triple and added a big driving layup for a 37-33 Zvezda lead. Reyes found space for an uncontested dunk, but Antonio Burks bettered that with a big three-point play. Madrid called timeout, however Zvezda stayed aggressive in defense. Meanwhile, Burks scored again in penetration to make it a seven-point game. Lopez and Reyes took over with consecutive layups-plus-fouls to get Madrid within 42-41. Free throws by Lopez and Reyes capped a 0-10 run, but Pero Antic beat the buzzer with a driving layup to get Zvezda to 44-45 at halftime.

Hervelle fed Reyes for an easy basket, which Gurovic erased with an alley-oop layup. Both teams continued to score fluently after the break, as a three-point play by Reyes gave Madrid a 46-50 edge. Antic fired up the crowd with a put-back dunk, but Madrid did not panic. Bullock shined with a fast break layup and soon added 4 free throws to keep the guests ahead, 50-56. Zvezda called timeout and opted to attack the basket, but Madrid kept its momentum going, as the hosts had already entered the foul bonus. Reyes hit free throws and even when Popovic hustled to get a second-chance layup, Smith buried one from downtown to make it a 9-point game. Gurovic and Reyes traded free throws, but Antic fired in a three-pointer to give Zvezda some hope, 57-63. Zvezda tried quick shots without much success now, while Smith buried a seven-meter triple and Sekulic added an easy basket for a 57-68 Madrid margin after three quarters.

Madrid continued to excel on defense early in the final period, as it opted to slow down the game's tempo. Sekulic's dunk gave the visitors their biggest margin yet, 57-70. Zvezda called timeout, as its fans tried to help their team start a big fourth-quarter rally. Madrid shut down Gurovic, who even missed free throws now, and on the other end Hervelle beat the shot clock buzzer with a three-pointer, good for a 58-73 lead with 6 minutes to go. Zvezda had run out of ideas on offense, while Bullock fired in a running triple that broke the game open, 58-76. Gurovic answered from downtown, but Madrid kept powering the offensive board. Bullock nailed another three-pointer that Dragicevic matched at the other end. Reyes sealed his big game with another layup as Madrid edged closer to ULEB Cup glory.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
ULEBCup.com
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Referees: ZIEMBLICKI, GRZEGORZ; CEREBUCH, GUERRINO; CMIKIEWICZ, MAREK
Attendance: 7000
By Quarter1234
Crvena Zvezda23211315
Real Madrid22232315
End of Quarter1234
Crvena Zvezda23445772
Real Madrid22456883
Crvena Zvezda
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 MILOSEVIC, IGOR 15:30 2 1/1           1 2 3     2 1 1
7 MARKOVIC, STEVEN 4:45               2 1 1     2    
9 POPOVIC, PETAR 20:15 8 4/8     2   2   2 2     2 2 6
10 POPADIC, MARKO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11 KOVAC, MIRKO 17:00 6 1/1 1/2 1/2                 2 2 4
13 MISANOVIC, NENAD 9:45 2 1/2     1   1 1         3 1 1
15 GUROVIC, MILAN 36:30 18 4/7 2/6 4/8   5 5 2 2 2     1 9 22
18 RADIVOJEVIC, VUK 24:00 6 1/2 1/2 1/2       4 2 1     3 1 6
20 DRAGICEVIC, TADIJA 23:00 16 2/2 3/6 3/4 1 2 3 2   3     5 2 11
21 ANTIC, PERO 25:30 9 2/3 1/3 2/2 2 3 5   1 4     4 1 5
25 BURKS, ANTONIO 23:45 5 2/4   1/1   2 2 2 2 1     3 2 7
55 ALEKSANDROV, NEMANJA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team                   9           9
Totals 200:00 72 18/30 8/19 12/19 6 12 18 14 21 17 0 0 27 21 72
        60% 42.1% 63.2%
Head coach: SAKOTA, DRAGAN
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 DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 SMITH, CHARLES 24:45 15 2/4 3/7 2/2   3 3 1 3       4 2 14
8 SEKULIC, BLAGOTA 22:15 6 3/4 0/1   2 4 6 1         4 1 8
9 REYES, FELIPE 23:15 19 6/10   7/9 6 4 10     2     2 8 27
12 MILIC, MARKO 14:45 5 2/4   1/2   1 1 1 2 1     3 3 5
15 MUMBRU, ALEX DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 HERNANDEZ-SONSECA, EDU 2:15                 1           1
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 24:15 9 3/4 1/1 0/2 1   1 3 3 1     2 2 12
19 TUNCERI, KEREM 19:45     0/2     1 1 3   3         -1
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 31:15 22 3/4 4/9 4/4 1 1 2 3 2 2     2 5 24
24 LOPEZ, RAUL 21:00 5 1/1 0/2 3/3 1 1 2 1   4     2 5 5
33 TOMAS, MARKO 16:30 2 0/1 0/2 2/2 1   1 1 2       2 1 2
Team                   6 1         5
Totals 200:00 83 20/32 8/24 19/24 12 15 27 14 19 14 0 0 21 27 102
        62.5% 33.3% 79.2%
Head coach: PLAZA, JOAN
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Head Coaches

SAKOTA, DRAGAN
Crvena Zvezda
"My impression is that we played against a better team that we are. Real was much better prepared for this game. As long as we had the strength, we were in the game. Later we fell. My players gave their maximum but they were the weaker partner in all duels. We shall play with heart and pride in Madrid. If that game is our farewell, let it be so."
PLAZA, JOAN
Real Madrid
"We know very well that this is one of the toughest courts in Europe. It happened to us four months ago, when we lost here to Crvena Zvezda with 19 points' difference. I think we needed that badly. At that time, Real Madrid was a new team with seven new players and a new coach. But we worked well and we learned from that loss a lot. We've grown as a team and tonight's score is the real one."

Players

DRAGICEVIC, TADIJA
Crvena Zvezda
"Real beat us with better offensive rebounding and a much better pick-'n'-roll game. We were in the game in first half, but Real was better in the second. Congratulations on the win. We were too tired to play at high level all 40 minutes. It is going to be a hard task for us in the rematch in Madrid."
TOMAS, MARKO
Real Madrid
"The game was pretty nervous at the begining. Crvena Zvezda surprised us four months ago in the ULEB Cup's first phase. Now, we prepared much better. The break came in the second quarter, when we reached their five-point leading margin. The key of the game was how we guarded Milan Gurovic, who finished the game with fewer points than he usually gets."
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