Unstoppable Edy Tavares leads Real Madrid to first ACB title in 3 years / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

Edy Tavares put on an all-around masterclass in Game 4 of the Spanish Liga Endesa Finals against FC Barcelona to defeat the eternal rivals 81-74 (13-10, 21-23, 23-23, 24-18) and helped Real Madrid capture the ACB title for the first time in three years.

Player of the Game EFF 41 Walter Tavares Points 25 Accuracy 9-11 Rebounds 13 Assists 1

The Cape Verdean giant from the island of Maio was unstoppable throughout the entire match, amassing 25 points on 9-for-11 shooting, 13 rebounds, a block, and whopping 41 PIR points.

Having dominated throughout the ACB Finals series, Walter Tavares became the MVP of the Liga Endesa Finals. "I have trained a lot to improve on offense. It was my goal because I knew that I could play anywhere with my defense, but having something in attack would help me a lot," Tavares said after receiving the accolade.

Real Madrid started the game with a 9-2 run in the first quarter. Tavares started dominating early and already had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 15 PIR points after the first 10 minutes.

The Royal club was in the lead throughout most of the match with Barca continuously pushing back. Although Real Madrid had a 7-point lead with 2 minutes to go in the third quarter, the teams headed into the fourth quarter with Real leading by only a point.

The fourth quarter belonged to Tavares and Fabien Causeur. The French guard hit a couple of clutch shots in the last several minutes of the match to gift the title to Real Madrid after three years. Overall, Causeur scored 17 points, 8 of them coming in the 4th quarter.

Nikola Mirotic was the top scorer on the Barcelona team with 14 points and 17 PIR. However, the club's leader was silent in the 4th quarter, only scoring 2 points, both of them coming from three throws.

Barca shot three-pointers at a solid 47% (11/23) but lost the rebounding battle (31 to 39), and made more turnovers (11 to 8).

The head coach of Real Madrid, Pablo Laso, could not coach the team due to his recovery from a recent heart attack. However, the long-time leader of the Royal club was invited to lift the champions trophy together with the team.

"We dedicate it to the best coach in Spain and probably in Europe," Real's assistant coach Chus Mateo who led the team throughout the Finals said after the game.

Real: Walter Tavares 25 (9/11 2PT, 7/7 FT, 13 REB, 4 TO, 41 PIR), Fabien Causeur 17 (4/10 2PT, 2/4 3PT).

Barcelona: Nikola Mirotic 14 (2/5 3PT, 6/6 FT), Dante Exum 13 (3/4 3PT, 5 REB), Nick Calathes 12 (2/5 3PT, 9 REB).

Edy Tavares highlights:

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