Assignia Manresa 93-96 Real Madrid

Real Madrid won a 14th straight time at Nou Congost Arena and became the runners-up in the Endesa League also thanks to Barcelona's 97-89 defeat against Caja Laboral. Carroll (21 points) and Lull (15) led the Whites to victory. Begic and Dolleman took centre stage in the first period and helped both teams draw 14-14 in the opening minutes. Real Madrid shooters started to net three-pointers to give their team the lead; with them, Suarez (2), Carroll (2) and Singler (1) gave Real a seven point cushion (22-29, 11'). Begic and Tomic did well to keep Manresa at bay and Carroll scored points with ease. He, a Reyes 2+1 and a three-pointer from Llull gave Real their largest lead yet (24-37). Manresa reacted through Asselin, who scored several shots and forced Madrid's defence to open up, allowing Downs and Hanga to bank more points. A 12-5 run tightened the score (39-42) and forced Laso to ask for timeout. Pocius then pulled rank and gave Real a five point lead by half-time (45-50). Assignia Manresa played more intensely in the second half. Asselin, Doellman and Downs destroyed Real Madrid's passive defence, especially close to the iron. Laso's boys became too hasty in offence and used a 1-3-1 zone defence that didn't work. Manresa took the lead with a Downs 2+1 (66-64, 29), but Llull reacted with a three-pointer on the buzzer (68-69, 30'). Llull continued to add character to his team's performance. Real Madrid tightened their defence and the locals scored less points. The Whites had a 0-12 run in under two minutes and obtained a nine point lead (73-82, 35'). A very rigorous technical foul by Tomic slowed down the Madridistas' reaction and the locals snatched the lead again (89-84, 37'). Real Madrid showcased great maturity in the final minutes and, through Carroll and free-throws from Llull and Singler, won 93-96.