By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Sergio Llull and Luka Doncic were truly Real Madrid‘s “splash brothers” tonight, helping their team top Copa Del Rey hosts Baskonia 103 – 99 in overtime and advance in the title game of the tournament.
While Doncic scored 23 (9/12 f.g.) and grabbed 6 rebounds registering the highest PIR among teammates with 26, Llull added an equal amount of points, dished out 4 assists and, perhaps more importantly, made the downtown bucket that forced the overtime (98 – 98) with 30 seconds left.
His team had previously came back from a eight-point deficit (87 – 79 with 3:21 left), overcoming the shootout exhibition of Rodrigue Beaubois who finished with a game-high 27 points (11/16 f.g., 5/8 3s).
It was his fire together with Adam Hanga (19 points), Shane Larkin’s creativity and scoring (17 points, 9 assists) that helped Baskonia amass a comeback to recover from being down by 13 (37 – 50 two minutes in the second half) and sit at the driver’s seat in the fourth quarter.
Yet even though they entered the final lap with a solid advantage, they made consecutive errors that stole them precious possessions which went to hands of their opponents. The “Madridistas” made the most out of them, with a 0 – 7 run for the 87 – 86 and then struck with Llull to send the game in overtime.
With a newly-found momentum at its side, Laso’s players had more energy and clear mind as the extra five minutes reached their end, while their opponents missed many shots, falling behind 102 – 96 with one minute to go. More than enough for Real Madrid on its way to the Final.