Causeur, Yabusele lead Real Madrid to 1-0 over Manresa / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages Credit EuroLeague Basketball via GettyImages

Fresh off Belgrade, Real Madrid took a step in overcoming the frustration from the lost Final Four final to Anadolu Efes by taking down BAXI Manresa 93-76 (21-14, 27-15, 23-20, 22-27) in the first game for the Spanish ACB playoff quarter-finals.

Player of the Game EFF 19 Fabien Causeur Points 17 Accuracy 5-9 Rebounds 8 Assists 1

The two teams will see each other again next Saturday in Manresa. In case Madrid prevail, they will make the semifinal round, where they will be playing the winner of the duel featuring Baskonia and Valencia.

Guerschon Yabusele was very intense in the paint, but Manresa were able to respond to the initial blows and invited Pablo Laso 's men to shoot from three. Vincent Poirier dominated on both ends, whilst managing to stop Chima Moneke.

The second quarter started with a triple by Sergio Llull which opened the can from the perimeter for the rest of his teammates, who began to connect from distance. Real Madrid showed consistency, leading by 19 points at half-time.

Fabien Causeur finished the game with 17 points, overtaking his fellow countryman Yabusele, who had 15. Jon Thomasson, Sylvain Fransisco and Luke Maye were the three players on the BCL finalists' squad to display double-digits in scoring.

Real Madrid: Fabien Causeur 17 (5/9 FG, 4/4 FT, 8 REB), Guerschon Yabusele 15 (5/10 FG, 5/5 FT, 4 REB, 4 AST), Sergio Llull 12 (5/11 FG, 4 REB, 4 AST), Vincent Poirier 12 (4/7 FG, 4/4 FT, 9 REB), Gabriel Deck 9.

BAXI Manresa: Jon Thomasson 12 (5/15 FG, 1/2 FT, 7 AST), Sylvain Francisco 12 (5/11 FG, 1/2 FT),Luke Maye 10 (4/6 FG, 4 REB), Juampi Vaulet 8.

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