Spirou Basket routed Real Madrid 67-49

Spirou Charleroi registered its first win in Turkish Airlines Euroleague Group B by thrashing Real Madrid 67-49 at the Spiroudome in Belgium on Wednesday. Spirou grabbed its first Euroleague win since its last appearance in the competition in February 2002. Meanwhile, Madrid dropped to 3-2 and hosts mighty Olympiacos next week. The guests had a bitter return to the Spiroudome, where it lifted the ULEB Cup trophy in 2007. Brian Greene paced the winners with 14 points. Demond Mallet and Brent Wright each added 11 while Andre Riddick had 10 and 4 blocks for Spirou. Mallet added 8 assists for the hosts. Felipe Reyes led Madrid with 12 points. Riddick was Spirou's dominant force at both ends with easy baskets and huge blocks, allowing the hosts to get a 28-14 margin midway through the second quarter. Sergio Rodriguez and Clay Tucker brought Madrid within 33-25 at halftime. Nothing changed after the break, as Greene, Wright and Mallet shined after the break, allowing Spirou to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.

Joseph Gomis got Spirou going with a running hook, as Madrid tried to get its big men involved early in the game. Ante Tomic sank a mid-range jumper but Daniel Santiago finished a two-chance Spirou offense with a jumper, good for a 4-2 Spirou edge. Mallet set the crowd on fire with a coast-to-coast layup and Madrid called timeout to adjust its offense. Santiago scored down low and a mid-range jumper by Wright boosted the hosts' lead to 10-2. Reyes rescued Madrid with a jumper and Tucker sank a fallaway shot to bring the guests within 11-6. Madrid had improved its defense with D'or Fischer under the baskets but the guests had entered the foul bonus. Wright made free shots that Fischer matched with a put-back dunk. Sergio Llull kept pacing Madrid with foul shots and an electric driving layup in transition that capped a 0-6 run. A dunk by Riddick gave Spirou a 15-12 margin after 10 minutes.

Greene struck from downtown early in the second quarter, as Madrid kept committing turnovers. The guests could not find answers in offense while a jump hook by Riddick and a big basket by Chris Hill made it a double-digit game, 22-12. Llull stepped up with free throws that Riddick erased with another jump hook. Madrid tried a more dynamic offense with Reyes and Carlos Suarez at both forwards but a reverse layup by Gomis boosted Spirou's lead to 26-14. Greene finished a four-chance Spirou offense with a put-back layup. Spirou dominated the game with excellent defense, as Madrid had hit 5-of-29 shots this far. Suarez tried to ignite the guests' comeback with free throws and Rodriguez added a layup to make Spirou call timeout at 28-18. Hill and Rodriguez traded free throws but a jumper by Justin Hamilton restored a 31-20 Spirou margin. Tucker struck from downtown and fed Nikola Mirotic for a dunk to get Madrid within 31-25. Another dunk by Riddick fixed the halftime score at 33-25.

Riddick had his fourth block immediately after the break but Madrid had improved its defense. Reyes scored down low in transition that Wright matched with a five-meter jumper. Spirou could not get Riddick involved but the guests kept struggling to find open shots. Meanwhile, a six-meter shot by Wright restored a double-digit Spirou margin, 37-27. Tucker nailed a jumper off a screen that a red hot Wright erased with a wild spin move in the low post. A three-pointer by Gomis made Madrid stop the game at 42-29. Reyes followed a tip-in with foul shots, as Madrid switched to a 2-3 zone defense. Mallet punished it with a corner three-pointer but a jumpr by Reyes kept Madrid within 46-35. Santiago scored in the paint and a layup by Mallet restored a 15-point Spirou margin, 50-35. Greene buried a baseline jumper but a layup by Mirotic brought Madrid within 52-37 after three quarters.

Madrid needed a quick comeback to keep its options alive and Fischer tried to ignite it with a baseline jumper but Hill matched it with free throws. Spirou kept following its game plan - outstanding defense and a very patient offense trying to find Wright or Riddick down low. Mallet scored off a steal, as Madrid went scoreless for 2 minutes. Greene shined with a great move in the low post that made it a 19-point lead, 58-39. Fischer silenced the crowd with a dunk that Greene bettered with a corner three-pointer that sealed the outcome, 61-41, with under 6 minutes left. Sergi Vidal and Fischer stepped up with back-to-back layups and Rodriguez added free throws but everything was said and done already. All Spirou fans were celebrating their team's first Euroleague win in almost 9 years. Meanwhile, Madrid goes back home ready to bounce back against last season's Euroleague finalists.