Everything was prepared for a historic night in Malaga. After having won the playoff opener in Madrid, Sergio Scariolo’s team could go for the surprising upset in Round 1 of the ACB playoffs.
Before the game, the team honored some of its all-time greatest players and you could see standing ovations for guys like Damir Mrsic, Stephane Risacher, Florent Pietrus and, of course, Jorge Garbajosa of the Toronto Raptors.
The game itself went down to the final possession and into Berni Rodriguez’ hands. And it looked like he wasn’t the only one surprised about the decision, as the entire Real Madrid defense let him walk up the length of the court and go for an uncontested layup that was even goal tended by the defense.
The win marked the first time in ACB history that the no. 8 seed eliminated the regular-season winner; even Felipe Reyes’ fire defense could not prevent the ferocious dunking forces of Marcus Haislip.
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