2009-10PlayoffsGame 2
Regal FC Barcelona 63
Real Madrid 70
March 25, 2010 CET: 20:15
Local time: 20:15 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Real Madrid downed Regal FC Barcelona 63-70

Ante Tomic introduced himself as Real Madrid’s next star as he helped lead the team to a 63-70 victory over archrival Regal Barcelona to tie their best-of-five Euroleague Quarterfinal Playoffs series at 1-1. Madrid hosts Games 3 and 4 of the series next week in the Spanish capital. Tomic scored a season-high 22 points and anchored Madrid’s outstanding defense with 4 blocked shots, handing Barcelona its first home loss in any competition in over a year and stealing the homecourt advantage for his team in the series. Tomic capped a 0-10 second-quarter run with a dunk that made it 22-29 and the visitors never trailed again. Pablo Prigioni added 12 points and 4 assists for the winners and Marko Jaric scored 11. Barcelona’s Game 1 hero Pete Mickeal paced his team with 13 points, Erazem Lorbek had 12 and Fran Vazquez 10. Barca was without injured big man Terence Morris.

Barcelona tried to play up-tempo from the opening tip, using short possessions and getting Mickeal involved. Juan Carlos Navarro got the hosts going with free throws as Madrid was held scoreless for two minutes until Tomic sank a turnaround jumper. Tomic took over with a left-handed jump hook. Madrid locked down the defensive glass and a reverse layup by Jaric gave the guests a 2-6 lead. Madrid stayed patient on offense and a red-hot Tomic took over with an acrobatic layup. Vazquez and Rimas Kaukenas traded layups and Jorge Garbajosa added a wild driving basket for a 5-12 Madrid lead. Barcelona kept missing shots and opted to attack the basket off a timeout. Madrid kept rebounding well, but Barcelona improved its defense with Victor Sada guarding Sergio Llull. The hosts, however, could not find the way to the basket until Vazquez set the crowd on fire with a dunk. Felipe Reyes split free throws and sank a four-meter jumper on the guests' next possession for a 8-15 Madrid lead after 10 minutes.

Lorbek hit a jump hook early in the second quarter and then bettered Reyes's five-meter jumper with a bomb from downtown to get the crowd involved at 13-17. Madrid struggled to find open shots now and head coach Ettore Messina tried to open the floor with Tomic and Novica Velickovic together on court. Jaka Lakovic and Roger Grimau hit free throws to get the hosts even closer, 16-17. Madrid entered the foul bonus early in the quarter and even when Tomic downed another jump hook, Lakovic answered from downtown. Jordi Trias sank a corner triple that Velickovic erased with a layup-plus-foul. Madrid kept trying to run the clock down and Jaric finished a two-chance possession with a three-pointer. Bullock soon added a layup in transition to force Barcelona to stop the game at 22-27. Velickovic fed Tomic for an outstanding dunk in traffic that capped a 0-10 Madrid run. Mickeal scored down low, but Jaric hit 3 free throws to keep Madrid out of trouble. A driving layup by Mickeal got Barcelona within 27-32 at halftime.

Mickeal made a backdoor layup immediately after the break, as Madrid tried to run its offense through Bullock. Pablo Prigioni downed an open triple as the game turned into a physical battle. A four-meter jumper by Tomic soon boosted the guests' lead to 29-37. Lorbek rescued Barcelona with a three-pointer and a block that allowed Navarro to score at the other end. Prigioni fed Tomic for a layup as Barcelona tried to match the guests' intensity in defense. Boni Ndong followed free throws with a two-handed dunk to make it a one-point game. Bullock downed a long two-pointer and even though Barcelona kept powering the boards, it could not find open shots. Llull shined with a wild driving layup and a jump hook by Tomic made Barcelona call a much-needed timeout at 38-45. The hosts tried a more dynamic lineup with Gianluca Basile and Grimau at the wings. Madrid was all over the place in defense, forcing the hosts to take outside shots without any success. Free throws by Tomic and Louis Bullock soon gave Madrid its first double-digit lead, 38-48. Jaric and Lorbek traded foul shots to fix the score at 40-50 after 30 minutes.

A block by Tomic on Navarro in the lane sent Madrid into the last minute up 58-65, and 2 free throws by Basile and Rubio were answered by 3 from Jaric and Prigioni. With 17 second left, Rubio launched and hit a triple, making it 63-68, but again Prigioni was perfect at the line. When Rubio's next long attempt missed, it was over, with Madrid having turned around the homecourt advantage with masterful defense.

Thursday, March 25, 2010
Euroleague.net
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Referees: BRAZAUSKAS, ROMUALDAS; HIERREZUELO, DANIEL; GKONTAS, SPIROS
Attendance: 7585 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Regal FC Barcelona8191323
Real Madrid15171820
End of Quarter1234
Regal FC Barcelona8274063
Real Madrid15325070
Regal FC Barcelona
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 BASILE, GIANLUCA 19:06 4   1/7 1/2 1 1 2 1   1       1  
8 TRIAS, JORDI 2:31 3   1/1                   1   2
9 RUBIO, RICKY 17:10 5 0/5 1/2 2/4 2 2 4     1     3 2 -1
10 LAKOVIC, JAKA 11:17 4 0/1 1/4 1/2   1 1     1       2 1
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 22:35 4 1/5 0/4 2/2 1   1 3   1   1 2 2 -2
17 VAZQUEZ, FRAN 23:09 10 3/3   4/6 2 4 6 1 2       3 3 17
21 NDONG, BONIFACE 15:00 6 1/3   4/4 2 2 4 1   1 1   3 2 8
24 SADA, VICTOR 11:33           2 2 1   1       2 4
25 LORBEK, ERAZEM 37:55 12 2/8 2/5 2/2 3 4 7 1   1 1 2 3 5 11
33 MICKEAL, PETE 28:40 13 6/8   1/1   5 5     2   1 4 1 10
44 GRIMAU, ROGER 11:04 2 0/1   2/2       1         2 1 1
Team           3 1 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 63 13/34 6/23 19/25 14 22 36 9 2 10 2 4 21 21 54
        38.2% 26.1% 76%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI
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
4 TOMIC, ANTE 33:05 22 10/15   2/2 2 3 5 1 1 1 4 1 2 2 26
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 23:24 12 1/2 2/5 4/4 2 2 4 4 3 2     4 3 16
6 HANSEN, TRAVIS 7:00                   1     2   -3
7 LAVRINOVIC, DARJUS 9:04 4 1/1   2/2   2 2             2 8
8 JARIC, MARKO 33:00 11 1/2 1/2 6/8   6 6           1 7 19
9 REYES, FELIPE 14:35 7 3/5   1/2 1 2 3   1 1     4 1 4
13 KAUKENAS, RIMANTAS 12:22 2 1/2 0/1   1 1 2             1 3
14 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA 11:31 3 1/4   1/1   2 2 2         4 2 2
15 GARBAJOSA, JORGE 11:45 2 1/2       1 1         1 2 1  
20 VIDAL, SERGI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 24:13 5 2/7 0/2 1/2   2 2   2       1 2 2
23 LLULL, SERGIO 20:01 2 1/3 0/3     3 3 1         1    
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 70 22/43 3/13 17/21 7 26 33 8 7 5 4 2 21 21 80
        51.2% 23.1% 81%
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
Regal FC Barcelona
"I think that the game was decided in the first quarter. We didn't start the game well, played bad defense and forced shots in offense. We didn't make our outside shots and committed many turnovers. The first quarter marked the entire game because we were not able to get back to it. Madrid felt confident with its initial lead and that was one of the keys. We had the chance to turn the game around once Pete Mickeal scored to make it 53-55 with 4:30 to go. Tomic scored twice in the low post, we missed two easy shots and were not able to complete out comeback. We have been off-target in these two games. It is more and more difficult for us to circulate the ball and we are not able to play the way we did all season. We didn't look like a team that had lost just three games during the season. We didn't play with confidence and had poor percentages from two-point and three-point range. We have to recover right away. We already know that it was critical for us to manage our first loss in the series. We go to Madrid with a 1-1 tie, but just as they won in Barcelona, we can win in there, too. This is an important moment this season. Madrid had the same game plan as on Tuesday, not allowing close shots. They allowed long shots, but we did not make them. We managed to do it at the last critical moment on Tuesday to win the game. We have to prepare for the next game and see if we are able to return here for Game 5. We have the confidence to do it, but must work hard."
MESSINA, ETTORE
Real Madrid
"We are happy because we played a very solid game. We led for the best part of the game and go back home with the series tied at 1-1. But we must keep working, get ready and go game by game. We played with a very good attitude, helping each other on the court, accepting our mistakes as part of the game, rebounding well and taking care of the ball on offense; We had 5 turnovers and that was the key to this game. It is important to see that we can play against Barcelona and don't get down when things go wrong. We have to play with confidence not only against Barcelona, but against everyone. We hope to get togetherness and mental strength for the upcoming games. Tomic had a very good game, showing that we found a player that gives us a reason to look to the future. He is mature, is learning fast and we are happy to have brought him here. We played good defense in our two games in here, very balanced, stopping their pick-and-roll. We played team defense and when people help each other and collaborate, all that makes your stronger. I don't think that the homecourt advantage is very important in this series, even though Palau Blaugrana and Palacio Vistalegre are places in which fans push hard for their team. We have to overcome all the off-court pressure, focus on our job and know they can beat us just as we beat them tonight. The team needed an important win and we don't have to be overconfident now. We have to stay focused, but of course, winning important games helps. Louis Bullock helped us today, he played with good rhythm. He played good defense and has been feeling better after being nine days without practicing due to a knee problem."

Players

NDONG, BONIFACE
Regal FC Barcelona
"We have to be more patient on offense because they play really aggressive in defense. We have to find the extra pass to get open looks from now on. We don't have to focus on one or two players. We have been able to win a lot of games by playing as a team and working together. We didn't play well and this is why we lost, but we cannot blame any individual player, but the entire team. We made some mistakes, like allowing Madrid to go to the foul line very often in the third quarter. We made some tactical errors that must change in Game 3."
LORBEK, ERAZEM
Regal FC Barcelona
"It was a very difficult game for us, just like Game 1. They made some great stops and we missed some open shots. Unfortunately, we had a chance to return to the game, but did not manage to do it. We made some shots on Tuesday that we didn't make tonight. It is a long series and the right mentality is seeing that we have more games to play. The score has been close in both games and I know it will be difficult to play in Madrid, but we must be ready for the challenge."
TOMIC, ANTE
Real Madrid
"It was a great win for us. After we lost Game 1, we knew we still needed to win one game in Barcelona to have a chance to win the series. We had to keep our hope to go to the Final Four in Paris. We are very happy and have a better chance to advance now. I am very happy because I had the opportunity to show what I can do in such a high-level game like this is. Nobody knows me at this level and maybe that is why I played so well tonight. I hope to do better and better in the upcoming games. We now have two games at home, the biggest games so far in this Euroleague season. We have a big chance and need our fans to get to the Final Four."
PRIGIONI, PABLO
Real Madrid
"This is an important win. We were focused all 40 minutes and managed to win this game. We worked really hard to try to reach their level and compete against them. We finally managed to compete against them and this is now a different story. We can win or lose, but are competing and our playing level is improving, so we have to be happy about that. We are learning how to play against Barcelona and are doing better little by little. There is little difference between both rosters' playing level and this is more the reality of both teams. In the end, it is all about competing. Ante Tomic is giving our frontcourt a lot of consistency. He is just what we needed and I hope we can help him to get better."
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