2009-10Regular SeasonRound 5
November 26, 2009 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 PALACIO VISTALEGRE
Ettore Messina and Novika Velickovic - Real MadridReal Madrid trailed for most of the game, but a 20-0 burst in the last quarter was enough for the team coached by Ettore Messina to pull a new 82-69 win over visiting Armani Jeans Milano in a Group D showdown. The guests were leading by 13 points, 36-49 right after the break, but a giant Novica Velickovic and the help of maverick guard Sergi Llull allowed the hosts to rip the game apart, much to the delight of the packed Palacio Vistalegre. The win allows Real Madrid to stand atop Group D with a 4-1 record at the halfpoint mark of the regular season together with Panathinaikos and BC Khimki, while AJ Milano drops to 1-4 and is fourth tied with Asseco Prokom and EWE Baskets. Velickovic led the winners with 21 points and 7 rebounds, Rimantas Kaukenas added 14, Travis Hansen posted 11 and Pablo Prigioni chipped in with 10. Llull stopped at 8 points, but it was a personal 8-0 run that boosted Real Madrid for good. For Milano, Jonas Maciulis was the leader with 20 points and Stefano Mancinelli helped with 16.

Two quick fouls for Armani Jeans Milano allowed Pablo Prigioni to score once from the line to start the game 1-0 for Real Madrid, but Mason Rocca scored twice from the same spot to give the guests their first advantage. Milano's defense started at full throttle, smothering Madrid in offense, while in the offensive end, the guests seemed to be moving the ball with more ease and Stefano Mancinelli shot a hook that went in, and right after a turnaround jumper for a 3-6 Milano edge. In a couple fast plays however, capped by Pablo Prigioni's triple, the hosts managed to tie the game, 8-8 and Novica Velickovic posted two free throws to make it 10-8. At this point, team captain Felipe Reyes came back to the courts after 50 days of injury, but Mancinelli kept punishing Madrid's basket as a few playes with quick baskets on both sides made it 15-13. Recalling his performance of last season in Madrid that earned him MVP honors, Mike Hall blasted 5 points in a row to keep Milano in business, and at the same time the guests' defense worked well again. The flurry of changes in Milano paid off as Jonas Maciulis made the three-point play for a 16-22 lead, but Travis Hansen finished off the quarter with a three for a 21-22 Milano lead.

Jonas Maciulis - AJ MilanoThe second quarter started with a Milano avalanche set for a 0-7 run including five straight points by Maciulis that forced the hosts to call a timeout after the 21-29 score. Real Madrid was out of the game at this point and Maciulis scored again after an offensive rebound that made it a double-digit lead, 21-31. After more than four minutes, a steal and transition finally allowed Velickovic to score for the hosts, and he soon did the same twice more for 27-33. Milano didn't panick however and kept controlling the defensive rebound, even if the defense of Madrid was starting to cause more trouble for Milano. Marco Mordente scored two free throws to maintain the gap, but the hosts managed to squeeze in two fast baskets after a Sergi Llull steal that made it 31-37. Mancinelli hit a monster three to keep things quiet but Velickovic slammed to be a one-man army for Madrid. Morris Finely scored after the offensive rebounds but Jorge Garbajosa hit a three on the buzzer to leave the final gap at the break at 9 points, 36-45.

Mancinelli opened the second half with a turnaround jumper for Milano and Maciulis joined him for a 13-point biggest lead, 36-49. Garbajosa replied soon for Real Madrid, who started with a strong character in the quarter, and more proof of that was Prigioni's three followed by Rimantas Kaukenas' fastbreak that soon cut the deficit down to 43-49. Milano was having serious problems all of a sudden in offense, as it committed its eighth turnover of the night allowing the hosts to go for a 7-0 burst. The game entered a crazy phase: Madrid was anxious to gain the lead back and Milano was struggling in offense, so neither team managed to score in six plays overall, but then Hansen appeared for the open three to make it 46-49. The stands roared knowing that the home team was on a positive streak, and to top it all, Finley was called a technical foul that allowed Louis Bullock to score two free throws but Mancinelli stole the ball in the following play to give Milano some air, 48-51. But Madrid was all fired up and Hansen capped a 22-4 run with a three to finally put the hosts in command, 55-53. Mancinelli replied with a basket plus foul but Prigioni closed the quarter with a new three to tie the game, 58-58.

Maciulis again, punsihed the basket of the hosts with a three to open the decisive quarter, and Marco Mordente copied him soon for a 0-6 burst that was only stopped by Kaukenas underneath, 60-64. But it was a three-point party for Milano as Maciulis blasted a new one, and it had to be Kaukenas again who stopped the guests. Hall was called a technical foul allowing Bullock to hit two from the line, 64-67, and in the subsequent play, Madrid almost expired the shot clock but Llull appeared with a providential three to tie the game again and bring the house down. He loved the situation and he repeated with a basket plus foul play that had the stands chanting his name as Real Madrid rocketed to a 10-0 run and a 70-67, the maximum lead for the hosts at that point. Milano was struggling bad due to the Madrid defense now, and on the other end Llull made it an 8-0 personal run and Velickovic joinde him for a tip-in that boosted the score to 74-67. Madrid's defense was a total nightmare for the guests now, forcing turnovers and making shot-clocks expire. Milano never gave up and fought for every ball, but neither did Madrid as Velickovic scored free throws and a fastbreak to make it 78-67 with 1:30 to go and seal the deal.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Euroleague.net
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Referees: ZIEMBLICKI, GRZEGORZ; CMIKIEWICZ, MAREK; ANASTOPOULOS, PANAGIOTIS
Attendance: 7900
By Quarter1234
Real Madrid21152224
Armani Jeans Milano22231311
End of Quarter1234
Real Madrid21365882
Armani Jeans Milano22455869
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 33:54 10   3/5 1/2       3 2 1 1   2 3 13
6 HANSEN, TRAVIS 18:05 11 1/3 3/4   1 2 3   1 3         9
7 LAVRINOVIC, DARJUS 17:51   0/3     1 2 3 2   4 2   2 4 2
9 REYES, FELIPE 4:33   0/1       2 2     1     1   -1
12 VAN DEN SPIEGEL, TOMAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 KAUKENAS, RIMANTAS 25:43 14 7/11 0/2     2 2 4 1 1     3 1 12
14 VELICKOVIC, NOVICA 25:48 21 8/11   5/8 4 3 7     1     3 7 25
15 GARBAJOSA, JORGE 31:48 9 3/5 1/1     7 7 1         2   13
20 VIDAL, SERGI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 DASIC, VLADIMIR 2:22   0/1                     1   -2
22 BULLOCK, LOUIS 19:11 9 1/1 1/3 4/4   2 2 2   2     3 1 7
23 LLULL, SERGIO 20:45 8 2/4 1/1 1/1   2 2 4 2       4 3 13
Team             2 2             2 4
Totals 200:00 82 22/40 9/16 11/15 6 24 30 16 6 13 3 0 21 21 95
        55% 56.3% 73.3%
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE
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
Armani Jeans Milano
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
6 MANCINELLI, STEFANO 23:30 16 6/8 1/2 1/1   3 3 1 1 1     4 1 14
7 HALL, MIKE 27:01 6 0/1 2/5   1 5 6 1   2     2 1 6
8 MACIULIS, JONAS 26:58 20 4/4 3/7 3/3 2 2 4     1     3 4 20
9 MORDENTE, MARCO 31:22 7 0/4 1/2 4/4   3 3 4 1 3     3 4 8
10 FINLEY, MORRIS 35:12 8 3/4 0/5 2/2 2   2 1 5 5   1   4 8
11 BULLERI, MASSIMO 15:46 5 1/4 1/3 0/1           1   1 4 2 -5
12 ROCCA, MASON 27:47 7 2/8   3/4 3 3 6   1 1   1 1 4 8
15 PETRAVICIUS, MARIUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 BEARD, JOEY 9:34           1 1           1 1 1
20 VIGGIANO, JEFF 2:50               1         3   -2
Team           1 2 3     2         1
Totals 200:00 69 16/33 8/24 13/15 9 19 28 8 8 16 0 3 21 21 59
        48.5% 33.3% 86.7%
Head coach: BUCCHI, PIERO

Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE
Real Madrid
"We cannot be happy because we started real weak and we defended their shooters very poorly. Our second half was way more serious. We played more aggressive and we played also better offense. I think we can take those good 20 minutes but it is also true that they played well and they knew how to take advantage of our relative lack of integration in the game."
BUCCHI, PIERO
Armani Jeans Milano
"We played 35 good minutes, with good concentration, playing tough and with good shots. There is no doubt that the technical foul changed the game. We have to congratulate Madrid for the win but I am leaving worried about what could have happened if that technical foul had not been called on my player."

Players

VELICKOVIC, NOVICA
Real Madrid
"It was a tough game. They started really aggressive and defending strong. We played a bad first half but in the second we changed and we played quality game. The lesson here is that you always hav to play strong during the 40 minutes. As long as the team wins everything will look good, but we have to keep working because there is a long stretch to the finish line. We have to keep our level in the decisive games."
HANSEN, TRAVIS
Real Madrid
"Our first half was not good. They really hurt us and attacked well, they found our weak spots. The key was that in the second half, we came out more aggressive. They helped a little because the last technical foul made them go out of the game for a while. Whatis clear is that despite this win, we still have to improve in many aspects of the game. It was an important win but we have to keep growing and improving."
HALL, MIKE
Armani Jeans Milano
"It was a tough loss tonight. It was a hard game for both teams. We had bad luck because we missed a good chance to get a road win. We played great basketball in the first half, but in the last minutes, their individual quality won them the game. We leave Madrid sad because we know we had it but we ended up losing in a tough arena knowing that we could have got something out of this game."
MACIULIS, JONAS
Armani Jeans Milano
"It was a tough loss. We played extremely well in the first half, even deserving the win. That's why this loss is so sad. We didn't manage to keep the same level in the second half and in a place like Madrid, that means losing the game. We lost a big chance to be in the history books but it's not a big thing why we lost this. The truth is that we had the win in our hands and we ended up losing."
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