The meeting was much better started by the “Dubai” basketball players. The hosts, who attacked excellently from afar, hit as many as five three-pointers and led 21:7, winning the first quarter 27:18.
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In the second quarter, the difference between the teams had reached as much as 16 points (36:20), but “Real” impressively finished the quarter – scoring 14 points in a row and at halftime trailing by only a minimal margin (42:43).
In the third quarter, “Dubai” had regained a 5-point lead, but the “kings” soon took the lead for the first time (51:50), and after three quarters led 64:63.
Midway through the decisive quarter, the Madrid team built a 7-point advantage (81:74), but “Dubai” did not give up.
The UAE team launched a 14:4 run, during which Elie Okobo scored 10 points, and the French-led team led 88:85 with 34 seconds remaining.
However, after a timeout, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot hit a three-pointer to tie the score (88:88), and Thomas Walkup, who could have secured the win for “Dubai,” missed, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, “Real” started with 8 points in a row and built a record lead (96:88), but “Dubai” responded with a 7:0 run, reigniting the intrigue (95:96). T. Luwawu-Cabarrot made free throws with 18 seconds left (98:95), and McKinley Wright had a chance to force a second overtime, but the guard missed, and “Real” secured the victory.
The match at the Abu Dhabi arena was also watched by two former Madrid “Real” football superstars – Gareth Bale and Marcelo.
We remind you that in the other semifinal, Piraeus “Olympiakos” dramatically defeated Istanbul “Fenerbahçe,” coached by Šarūnas Jasikevičius.
It was “Olympiakos” and “Real” who played in the EuroLeague final last season in May, which the Greeks won 92:85.
The first EuroLeague Super Cup winner will be decided in the final starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The third-place match will be played from 5 p.m.
“Dubai”: Elie Okobo 24, Dwayne Bacon 19, McKinley Wright 12, Tornike Shengelia 11, Mfiondu Kabengele 10.
“Real”: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (6 assists) and Walter Tavares (7 rebounds) with 20 each, Gabriel Deck 15, Jaime Pradilla 13 (7 rebounds), Andres Feliz 10.
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