The visitors had no reply for Real’s fast-paced offense which went hand in hand with ironclad defense
Imperious Real trampled Zvezda all over the court
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3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 5 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Real Madrid’s evergreen 33-year-old playmaker Facundo Campazzo produced a truly flawless performance in a 95-72 whitewash of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, personifying an impressive team effort as the hosts dominated in all departments from start to finish.
Campazzo sank 13 points without missing a single shot, making both his efforts from the floor and all 8 from the foul line, while dishing out 6 assists and committing no turnovers as he pulled all the strings.
Showing the maturity of a tried and tested veteran in Europe’s premier club competition, Campazzo was once again the driving force behind Real’s smooth display, watched at Wizink Center by a couple of the football team’s stars, Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior and French midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
Campazzo was quick to thank Vinicius for turning up after the Brazil international scored a second-half hat-trick in Real’s memorable 5-2 Champions League win over German side Borussia Dortmund earlier this week, as the home side fought back from a 2-0 halftime deficit.
“It’s awesome that he came here to support us, as we also support the football team every time they play,” the Argentine point guard said in a post-game interview. “We are working hard to play at a high level all the time like we did today and we knew that Zvezda is a dangerous team.”
Real confined Zvezda to 2-of-14 shooting from deep in the first half and restricted the visitors to just 4 assists while forcing 6 turnovers, having racked up 21 rebounds and 6 steals. Real also managed 15 assists and made 11 of 14 from two-point territory, setting the tone for an equally one-sided second half.
Real ended up winning the battle of the boards 42-34 and making 18 of 25 shots from inside the arc, while draining 12 of 32 from deep. In contrast, Zvezda struggled heavily on offense and made a mere 15 of 37 from two-point territory as well as 9 of 32 from downtown, much to the delight of Real’s head coach Chus Mateo who praised his team’s defense.
“This is the kind of consistency we’ve been trying to find since the beginning of the season,” said the 55-year-old tactician. “We were able to control their shooters and did a very good job defensively.”
“This is the way forward as everybody needs to work hard every day to improve. We will have ups and downs in what will be a long season and we have to be together to overcome tough moments when they come.”