What a night in the Movistar Arena. Yesterday Real Madrid faced Zalgiris Kaunas in the EuroLeague. I worked as a photographer and had a seat on the very first row. My task was to capture some shots of the visiting team from Lithuania. Before I expected a good game, but I did not expect anything like this. Moreover, looking forward to the photos I could capture wasn’t an easy task, as basketball plays much faster than football. That makes it harder to take good photos. The arena was filled with a lot of fans, more than in a Spanish League game.
The home team started strong with Théo Maledon and Facundo Campazzo leading the way the most. At first the whole team controlled the rhythm and looked comfortable. It al looked quiet well for Los Blancos, going to the dressing room with a lead at half time. Then Zalgiris changed everything in the third quarter. The pace from the visitors went up, the energy shifted and Madrid found themselves under real pressure.
Zalgiris were doing very well, but one man stood out the most. From my spot by the court I watched Sylvain Francisco put on an incredible game. He pushed his team forward every moment of the game and finished with an incredible 34 points. In the fourth quarter he literally threw in every three-pointer attempt without hesitation.
The final minutes were absolute chaos. The referee made some striking decisions in Real Madrid’s favor, which influenced the final result. Los Blancos. held on and won with 100:99. The home team wins by the smallest margin. At the end of the game, the entire Movistar Arena rose to their feet for the Frenchman. He didn’t win, but did a performance to remember.
It was a great game. A night where one player, Francico, managed to win the respect and admiration of an entire arena. A player to remember.
Chek out some of the best pictures I took for the visitors from Lithuania, Zalgiris Kaunas:
