Madrid was missing its giant, Tavares, with an injury to the medial collateral ligament of the left knee that makes him miss the Euroleague quarterfinals against Hapoel. But their other great captain, Campazzo, was there, the point guard who once again gave a masterclass in leadership and scoring to lead the Whites to their second victory in the series with a stat line of 23 points and 6 assists. Facu and the collective and supportive play of the Madrid players, a rock at home, were too much for Itoudis’ group.
Read more Bolsonaro leaves house arrest to have shoulder surgery
Scariolo’s team leads 2-0 (like Fenerbahçe against Zalgiris, Olympiacos against Monaco, and Panathinaikos against Valencia) before visiting the Israeli team next Tuesday in their Bulgarian exile with the opportunity to reach the Final Four.
New celebration, @facucampazzo? 🫰 pic.twitter.com/6wXCTvJAUo
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) May 1, 2026
The first crack was punished by Elijah Bryant with a straight three-pointer and Campazzo quickly found the response, sharp again from the perimeter. Micic took advantage of the void left by Tavares in the paint to attack the basket while Madrid got used to the absence of the giant. The game is different without such a towering presence, initially replaced by Len. Oturu also tried to cause trouble inside against Okeke but ran into two consecutive blocks from the Ukrainian center. The Whites responded with two long-range bingos from Hezonja in a very close and entertaining start. Not for Hapoel’s owner, Ofer Yannay, who was reading a book during a timeout. On the court, Bryant continued his mastery and Scariolo sent Deck in to contain him. The shooting guard and Oturu punished the Whites, now renewed with their usual rotation dance. The change suited Scariolo’s team well and a dunk by Garuba lifted the arena before the first break (24-21).
The mobility of the big men unsettled Hapoel. The Israeli team’s center of gravity is on the perimeter, where they gather Micic, Bryant, Jones, Blakeney… Plenty of firepower to stay in the fight against a Madrid that can bite both outside and inside. That dual threat allowed them to take another bite of the scoreboard before entering a stretch of some turnovers and missed shots that leveled the game again thanks to Oturu’s stamina (40-42).
Read more Girona loses to Mallorca and ignites the bottom of the table
The double point guard formula, Campazzo and Feliz together on the court, worked again for Madrid. They are two men who do everything and one frees the other. Between the two little ones, they drove Hapoel crazy until Itoudis rearranged the pieces after the play won by Scariolo. But Madrid had already taken a step forward in defense and Hezonja made the most of the moment. Jones and Facu exchanged lessons on how to penetrate. And also Feliz, of course, an outstanding student of the Argentine. Micic and Oturu accumulated fouls in a Hapoel team struggling with three-point shooting. Garuba’s energy at both ends and Maledon’s intelligence ended up tipping the direction of the game towards the Whites (73-62).
Madrid struck hard with 33 points in the third quarter and Micic shot himself in the foot with his protests and foul trouble at the start of the last period. The White team no longer trembled in the final minutes as in the previous game. Campazzo was not joking when the Final Four is so close. Madrid made it count.
Read more The subordinate Raúl Ruiz, seriously gored
Euroleague results and matchups.
