That's how we got to the grand final of the European Cup held this year in Berlin. Where we saw the seventh European Cup for Real Madrid, in an atmosphere of total domination in the stands by Israeli fans. Despite the fact that Maccabi appeared in the final with the title as a favorite, Real achieved a deserved victory after dominating the game and the scoreboard during the whole match.

Both sides began the match with individual defense, although Lolo Sainz had reserved for his colleague Klein a tactical surprise that the experienced Israeli coach was slow to assimilate. It was an alternative defence from individual to zone according to what had happened in the previous attack. If Real Madrid scored through one of their pivots (Rullan or Meister) or if the attack failed, maintained in their balance sheet an individual defense, but if the scorer was one of the outside men (Corbalan, Brabender or Walter) automatically went to defend in the pressure zone. This complicated strategy made Maccabi miss more than once, and when he wanted to react he was already very low on the scoreboard (26-14, min. 11). Although Klein tried to counter the Real Madrid game with numerous changes, Maccabi defense was a real sieve, especially in the area, where Rullan and Meister penetrated again and again into the basket. Aroesti, Silver and an unknown Berkowitz had hardly any offensive contribution, and in defense helped little to their pivots. Against this backdrop, the Madrid outfit withdrew at half-time with a clear advantage over their rivals (48-40).

After the restart, Real Madrid continued with their scoring streak, and three minutes into the second half they achieved their maximum advantage until that moment (55-42). However, the personals began to take their toll on Real, who had to diminish the intensity of their individual defense. In addition, the Maccabi changed to a zone 2-3 that began to choke the whites, and the players of the Israeli team began to intone in attack. Despite the fact that in the 31st minute Real Madrid still clearly dominated the scoreboard (75-61), the successive eliminations of Corbalan and Meister made the Maccabees approach dangerously (83-80 with 4'13' to go). However, Perry's elimination left Maccabi lame in the rebound, and the substitutes of the Madrid side knew how to keep the type and calm until the final whistle.

Courtesy by BasketFinals

Real Madrid - Maccabi Tel-Aviv 89-85
Real Madrid CF (Lolo Sainz): Juan Antonio Corbalan 9, Wayne Brabender 12, Walter Szczerbiak 16, Rafael Rullan (207-C-1952) 27, Randy Meister 21; Jose Luis Llorente 2, Josean Querejeta 2, Luis Maria Prada, Fernando Romay dnp, Juan Manuel Lopez Iturriaga
Maccabi Elite SC (Ralph Klein): Motti Aroesti, Miki Berkowitz 10, Lou Silver, Aulcie Perry 22, Earl Williams 31; Jim Boatwright 22, Shmuel Zysman, Hanan Keren, Shuki Schwartz, Hanan Dobrish