Into the Copa del Rey semifinals with a stellar performance

Real Madrid defeated Unicaja Málaga in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey at the Roig Arena and will play its thirteenth consecutive semifinal this Saturday (6:00 pm CEST) against Valencia Basket. Scariolo’s team debuted in the tournament with an emphatic victory, one that will go down in the history of the competition. They led by as much as 37 points and reached a team evaluation of 135. It was an outstanding team performance, with Lyles (23 in evaluation) and Maledon (21) leading six players in double figures in this category. Llull became the player with the most minutes in the tournament (982) and tied Juan Carlos Navarro as the second player with the most Copa appearances (44).

The game began at the rhythm set by Madrid, starting with an aggressive defense, constant changes, and few concessions to Unicaja, limiting their production to Webb III. They complemented this with a very secure and selfless offense, always seeking the best option. One of these options was Tavares, who dominated the paint with 7 points. But it wasn’t just him; the team put on an offensive display with 8 players scoring among the 10 rotated by Scariolo. Hezonja and Lyles each added 5 points, and Maledon scored 4. A 14-0 run over three minutes capped off a great first quarter (28-12).

Madrid, unstoppable
They increased their dominance in the second quarter by maintaining a very high level on both ends of the court, but especially through their attitude and focus. Unicaja struggled in their attempts to disrupt Scariolo’s team’s consistency. Offensive rebounds, their main source of points, disappeared due to the excellent work of Garuba, Len, Deck, and company. With everyone fully committed both defensively and offensively (7 players scored in this quarter), our team reached a 23-point lead (50-27, min.19).

Madrid didn’t want any surprises; they had learned their lesson well and came out in the second half to close the game. They intensified their defense even more, which was impressive all night. Unicaja went five minutes without scoring a field goal. Meanwhile, the madridistas enjoyed themselves on offense. Deck and Llull shone in a third quarter where their superiority was reflected in the 71-35 scoreline by the 28th minute.

Madrid seals a memorable victory
The ticket to the semifinals was secured, but Madrid showed they came to the Copa with everything and a great hunger. They continued at cruising speed without holding back their efforts. Feliz, Lyles, and Abalde pushed their lead to 37 points on multiple occasions. Unicaja slightly narrowed the gap, but Madrid reached 100 points and finished with a 30-point difference, just two shy of their tournament record. It was a showcase performance with 10 players scoring between 7 and 16 points, as the madridista fans present at the Roig Arena chanted: “This is how Madrid wins” (100-70, min.40).

Real Madrid-Unicaja statistics