While many Real Madrid fans may only pay attention to the achievements of the football team, the basketball team has plenty of history themselves. Sunday night in Belgrade, Los Blancos defeated Fenerbahçe to win the Euro League for the 10th time.
In the span of just six days, Real Madrid has a chance to be European champions in both football and basketball. An incredible run from the Real basketball team saw them capture their 10th Turkish Airlines Euro League title in club history as The Whites defeated Fenerbahçe 85-80 in a thrilling, back and forth game.
Madrid finished fifth in the Euro League standings with a 19-11 record, earning a spot in the playoffs along with the other seven teams making up the top eight.
Led by 19-year-old phenom Luka Doncic, Real made an improbable run defeating fourth-seeded Panathinaikos B.C in the first round, followed by the top two seeds in CSKA Moscow and Fernerbahçe in the Final Four to capture the title.
In the Final, Real was tested by the Turkish side as the higher seed led by two at halftime. A big 25-15 third quarter from Los Blancos was enough to see them raise the trophy at the end of the 40 minutes.
Leading by just three with 18 seconds to go in the game, forward Fabien Causuer had a chance to put the game to bed from the free throw line. After making the first shot, the French big-man missed the second. But, a quick follow up from Trey Thompkins was ultimately the game-winner, pushing the lead to five.
Despite Causuer leading the team with 17 points in the final, it was point guard Luka Doncic who earned the Final Four MVP honors for his great showing over the course of the two games.
In the semis against Moscow, Doncic had 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists to lead the lower-seed over the top seed, 92-83.
In the Final, Luka scored 15 points and provided four assists. A stunning 16-1 run from Real late in the first half really swung the game in their favor as Fenerbahçe to stop the deep ball. Real went 7 of 20 from deep and shot 85 percent from the line.
"“Winning the Euroleague is incredible,” Doncic said following the game. “This season I was victorious in the two European finals I played and that feels great. We have worked hard to get here.”"
Head coach, Pablo Laso, was complimentary of his team following the win.
"“I always start by congratulating my players. They’ve done a great job today, on Friday and from the first day of training. It’s been an incredible year for us and we knew that nothing else could happen to us.”"
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This is Real’s first Euro League title since the 2014/2015 season and the second under Laso. With the basketball team getting the job done in Belgrade, it is now up to the football team to get the job done against Liverpool in Kyiv on Saturday.
Congratulations to all the players on the basketball for accomplishing this incredible feat.
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