A wake-up call: one positive thing Real Madrid bring to Kaunas from brawl in Madrid / News - Basketnews.com

Edy Tavares, Rudy Fernandez, Dzanan Musa, Sergio Rodriguez, Fabien Causeur, Nigel Williams-Goss, and Adam Hanga named one and the same positive element that Real Madrid took away from the brawl in Game 2 against Partizan.

Credit: Alberto Gardin/LiveMedia /SIPA - Scanpix Credit Alberto Gardin/LiveMedia /SIPA - Scanpix

When Real Madrid went 0-2 in the EuroLeague playoff series against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, not many expected them to come back.

2-pointers this season

58%20,7Points made:20,7Accuracy:57,9%Place in standings:4Record max:31Record min:13Most made 2FGs:Walter TavaresTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

Yet, Real arrived in Kaunas for their 9th Final Four in the last 12 years. Los Blancos completed the first-ever comeback from being 0-2 down and arrived in Lithuania with an aim to shake European basketball once again.

The infamous brawl in Game 2 became the biggest story of the whole EuroLeague playoffs, but looking back now, Real Madrid can take one positive thing from this situation. And it's not a ticket to the Final Four.

Of course, no one tries to justify what happened in Madrid. 21 players were ejected from the game, which ended up as one of the biggest fights in entire EuroLeague history. However, it might have also become a crucial spark to a historic comeback.

Real Madrid star Walter Tavares, who collected his third EuroLeague Best Defender award, admitted that the brawl was a wake-up call for the whole team.

"I think we were dead at the end of Game 2," Tavares revealed to BasketNews. "I think the conflict helped us to wake up and say [to ourselves] 'We gotta do this now, and try our best to win the games.'"

That wake-up call worked like a charm. Despite multiple suspensions on top of the injury problems, that fight in Madrid brought another thing.

Unity.

"I definitely think we bonded as a team," Nigel Williams-Goss told BasketNews. "Obviously, after Game 2 going to Game 3, we knew all we have is each other and that we will have to be super close going into that environment in trying to get two wins."

"I definitely think we really rallied together, and it showed on the court," he added.

Dzanan Musa

MIN:24.12PTS:15.18 (62.81%)REB:3.15As:2.67ST:0.44BL:0.18TO:1.62GM:39ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

Meanwhile, Fabien Causeur said togetherness was one of the things that allowed the team to bring back the series in Madrid and eventually win it.

"For sure [it added extra unity]," Causeur revealed. "We [already] talked about what happened was bad, and everyone apologized. Then you have to turn a page. We stuck together because we knew we have to go to Belgrade in a very tough atmosphere."

"If we wanted to turn around the series, we had to be closer than ever," Frenchman continued.

If Tavares called Game 2 incidents as a wake-up call, Adam Hanga believes trailing by 2 wins looked like a reality check.

"It [team's character] helped us to get to the Final Four," Hanga admitted during his media availability before the semifinal against Barcelona. "Obviously, it helped our team morale, especially after we were down 0-2."

"Especially what happened in the second game… After that, it [team's character] helped a lot. We went to Belgrade and played in one of the toughest arenas. The wins always lift the morale and character of the team.

Maybe those two games helped us to realize that we are not as good as we thought and get back to the basics. We fought in Game 3 and Game 4 like animals. Game 5 maybe had some luck as we came back from a big margin, but the character helped us to get to the Final Four," the Hungarian forward explained in detail.

Adam HangaCredit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

Dzanan Musa also played a big part in Real Madrid's comeback, averaging 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 21.5 PIR in the last two games against Partizan.

He admitted that the feeling of unity was the only positive thing that came out after the fight.

"We stayed together, and it's something we appreciate if we can appreciate anything from this series," Musa told BasketNews' Mindaugas Bertys. "To be honest, it was ugly, and everything that happened, it's not our way, but it is what it is."

"We are here as a team, and we are stronger. Of course, we don't have Gabi [Deck], Vince [Poirier], and Yabu [Guerschon Yabusele], but we have to fight with what we have and try to win the game," the Bosnian added.

And you could argue that the unity every Real player talks about showed when it mattered the most in Game 5. Despite being down by 18, the Spanish powerhouse made a comeback, thanks to an incredible effort of three veterans in Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Llull, and Sergio Rodriguez.

38-year-old Rodriguez dived without hesitation to keep the ball in play and kept playing after he suffered what seemed like a dislocated shoulder injury.

Rudy didn't eliminate himself from the game and asked the team doctor to place his shoulder back in place so he could return to the game in the 4th quarter.

Meanwhile, Chacho scored 11 of the first Real Madrid's 13 points in the 4th, tying the game at 81 for the first time since the beginning of the 2nd quarter.

Sergio Llull Sergio RodriguezCredit Sergio Sanz/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

"We knew we didn't perform in the best way in Game 2," Rodriguez admitted before the semifinal against Barcelona. "We played very well in both games in Belgrade. We didn't perform at the level we wanted at the beginning of Game 5, but we were ready to come back and win it."

A caused brawl in Game 2 certainly didn't help to sway neutral fans toward them.

On top of that, there was Partizan's Cinderella story, incredible Serbian fans in Kaunas on the horizon, and Zeljko Obradovic's journey towards his 10th EuroLeague title.

Real also won't have many traveling supporters, while Kaunas crowd has many more ties with FC Barcelona or AS Monaco.

So, it feels like Real Madrid against the world, isn't it? Well, Real Madrid players have some other thoughts.

"We try to enjoy this moment," Fernandez told BasketNews. "We'll try to play hard in the semifinal. I think we have a lot of supporters, and we try to enjoy this Final Four."

"I mean, that's for the media and fans to make that narrative," Williams-Goss said bluntly after being asked whether he sees Real as villains. "I know we believed internally that we can win and advance and be where we are today. We tried to block out the noise, whether it's positive or negative. We focused on the task on hand."

"I don't think we are the villains," Tavares answered with a smile on his face. "Both teams responded wrongly in the situation [in Game 2]. I think it's normal that when someone attacks your friend, you try to defend him, and the other guys try to defend their friends. I think it [the fight] happened because of frustration, and we didn't play well in Game 2."

Dzanan Musa Edy TavaresCredit Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic

Musa and Hanga looked at everything much simpler.

"I feel like we deserve to be here," Hanga said confidently. "As I said, we came back and fought hard after the first two games."

"It's only basketball," Musa said. "I'm not happy with how it happened. I wish everything stayed in a sports manner, as I said many times. It's all sports, and it's all inside the four lines. Everything that happens outside the court doesn't matter. We are here, and we try to win the title. It's all that matters."

And to claim that title, Real Madrid will need something they showed in those three wins against Partizan. Unity.

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