Real Madrid Suffers First Defeat of 2026 in Euroleague
He Real Madrid lost this Tuesday (98-92) on the court of Paris Basketball in their first defeat of 2026 in the Euroleague, after six consecutive wins; Scariolo’s men struggled to control the offensive rebound and They almost came back from a game in which, except in the opening minutes, they did not have an advantage on the scoreboard.
The meringues suffered a lot the high rhythm of the men of Francesco Tabellini, who had many second chances thanks to their offensive rebounding -19 in total-, ending the first half with a total of 41 shots at the basket, to only 29 for Madrid.
The locals started with a lot of activity in defense and aggressive in the passing line. Yakuba Ouattara was in charge of wearing down Campazzo in their all-court match, in and Madrid who tried to take advantage of Tavares’ size to take advantage near the rim. Two consecutive triples from Abalde and Okeke helped the whites breathe, with a revolutionized Nadir Hifi scoring five points, 11-13 (min.5).
Mouhamed Faye (C), of Paris Basket, in action against Facundo Campazzo (D). / MOHAMMED BADRA / EFE
Paris Basketball’s Strong Performance
Paris Basketball profited from the offensive rebound -6 in this period- and heavily penalized Scariolo’s team, who clung to Tavares’ intimidation and success from 6.75 (4/6) to counteract the pace of the Parisians, who left with the maximum at the end of the first quarter, 24-18 (min.10).
Without the Cape Verdean on the track, Madrid allowed more baskets by giving up the zone, but held on to the good performance of the Lyles-Garuba duo to reduce the difference on the scoreboard, 29-24 (min.13). However, the second chances after loading the offensive rebound triggered Paris, which also found the outside success (4/9), forcing Scariolo to call a timeout and stop the momentum of the clash, 35-26.
An impeccable Trey Lyles with 11 points without a mistake, helped his team, who had accumulated 8 losses, to not lose face to the game. On the other hand, an outstanding Math M’Baye with 12 points also without errors, put the lead back to 9, 45-36 (min.17).
Madrid came closer despite the personal mistake (45-42, min.19), but the frenetic tempo that Paris set, attacking perfectly in the first seven seconds of their attack, He put land in the middle again in the bright, 50-42.
The resumption began with a 5-0 partial for the French, instantly answered by a 0-5 for the whites after a triple by Campazzo. Eight consecutive points from Hezonja, who was more in tune in the second half, brought Madrid closer again, 59-55 (min.24). Again and in less than two minutes, Hifi, with 16 points and 4/5 in triples, and a hard-working M’Baye, once again put the home team’s lead at 10, 67-57, whose offensive rebound count went up to 13.
Paris Basket’s Jeremy Morgan (left) in action against Usman Garuba (right) and Sergio Llull (center). / MOHAMMED BADRA / EFE
Real Madrid’s Comeback Attempt
The back and forth of the match helped highlight the virtues of an impetuous Andrés Feliz, vertical and fierce in the open field, 68-64 (min.28). Herrera, unprecedented until now, burst in with five points and Paris regained its lead with the final quarter remaining, 75-66.
Those of Scariolo They accelerated to try the comeback with more legs than head at the back and with Lyles as the main offensive weapon, 79-73 (min.34). The loose balls continued to fall to the French, who closed in on defense to cause the whites’ seventeenth loss. However, two hits from beyond the arc by Campazzo and Feliz put the Whites within 4, with four minutes left, 86-82.
A three-pointer by Hezonja and Lyles’ 21st point cast doubt on the Adidas Arena with 2:20 remaining, 89-87. Another triple from Feliz put Madrid back ahead, something that had not happened since the first quarter, but the locals came back to life thanks to a 2+1 save from Hifi on the next play.
Two bad penetrations by the whites left the score at 94-90 with 31.8 on the game clock. Hezonja put his team at 2, but Paris did not fail from personal and secured a deserved victory for the locals 98-92 breaking a streak of six consecutive wins in the competition.
Technical Sheet
98 – Paris Basketball (24+26+25+23): Robinson (12), Ouattara (3), Rhoden (15), Cavaliere (11) and Dokossi (-) -five starters-, Hifi (21), Herrera (5), Morgan (2), Stevens (7), Faye (6), Shahrvin (-) and M’Baye (16).
92 – Real Madrid (18+24+24+26): Campazzo (7), Abalde (7), Hezonja (16), Okeke (6) and Tavares (6) -starting five-, Feliz (18), Llull (2), Krämer (-), Deck (5), Lyles (21), Garuba (4) and Len (-).
Referees: Olegs Latisevs (LAT), Milos Koljensic (MNE), Anne Panther (GER). They called out an unsportsmanlike foul against Jeremy Morgan, from Paris Basketball (min.16), and a technical foul against Facundo Campazzo, from Real Madrid (min.37). Andrés Feliz, from Real Madrid, was eliminated for fouls.
Incidences: match corresponding to the twenty-fifth day of the regular phase of the Euroleague played at the Adidas Arena.
Read more about the match and its implications Here
Images Credit: www.diariodemallorca.es