By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid began the 2018-2019 season in exactly the same manner they finished the previous one: By winning titles.
The “Blancos” beat Baskonia 80 – 73 in the SuperCopa Final and won the trophy for the fifth time in the history of the club.
While Sergio Llull scored a team-high 15 points and dished out three assists en route to being named the MVP of the tournament, the “unsung hero” for Real was Klemen Prepelic. The Slovenian guard entered the game in the third period with his team down 50 – 56 and scored eight quick points to help bring his Real up 61 – 58.
Baskonia responded and retook the lead but once again Prepelic dropped consecutive buckets and, along with Gabriel Deck, pushed Real to the make it 71 – 64, three minutes into the final quarter.
Real retained a steady lead while Baskonia looked out of sync. Some bad shooting choices and consecutive turnovers by the Basques stole them from having a fighting chance in the end.
Shavon Shields scored 14 points for Baskonia while Tornike Shengelia had 12. Vincent Poirier added 11points plus seven rebounds and Ilmane Diop also scored 12.
For the winning side, Facu Campazzo delivered 13 points, including key personal plays down the stretch.