Sylvain Francisco and Theo Maledon enjoy a magnificent duel in the Euroleague
The French team may not have shined in position 1 during the last Euros, but there is no shortage of talent. Thursday, meeting between Real Madrid and the Žalgiris Kaunas offered new evidence: Theo Maledon etc Sylvain Francisco so he engaged in a duel at a very high level, signing two of the biggest individual performances of this start of the season in a crazy match, which was narrowly won by Real (100-99).
Trailing at the break, Zalgiris came back, carried by a red-hot Silvan Francisco. The French leader provided an anthology of the second half: 24 points and 8 assists after the break, including 17 units in the fourth quarter alone. Burnt in the money, he hit three 3-pointers in the final 80 seconds in an attempt to shake Madrid. He came out with five fouls in the last moments, he left the floor with the ovations of the Movistar Arena, which he won with the spectacle offered… despite the opponent’s jersey.
Silvain Francisco, the “big player” of Sergio Scariol
“He was amazing”summed up Sergio Scariolo at the press conference. “Basketball can be that simple, right? Give this guy the ball, he’s going to shoot 3-pointers and he’s going to make them (7/9 this Thursday). He’s a great player, he’s capable of that kind of thing. And it’s not the first time he’s done it.”
With 33 points (career record tied) and 11 assists (career record broken), he registered an extremely rare statistical line: according to Basketnews, such a performance (at least 30 points and 10 assists) was seen only once in recent Euroleague history by Kevin Pangos in 2021.
☔ Video game numbers. @S_CISCO_2 pic.tvitter.com/kACeEBVvdC
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) November 20, 2025
Conversely, Theo Maledon was not left out. The former Tander and ASVEL player played his best European match in the Madrid jersey, the first with over 20 points in the Euroleague.
From the bench, he collected 25 points (7/11 on shots, 11/11 on free throws), 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 34 points in just 22 minutes. An ideal reaction after his more discreet performance a week earlier against Panathinaikos (6 points, 4 ratings).
“Obviously we have to count on the contributions of as many players as possible”that Sergio Scariol emphasized. “I congratulate those who brought us back into the match from the bench, for their commitment to give 100 percent, regardless of their statistics. That’s how we will become a dangerous team.”
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With his aggressiveness towards the circle, Theo Maledon led Real perfectly in a certain match: Madrid reached 100 points with only two winning shots (2/9) and minimal use of the outside shot.
The arbitration in question…
“It’s probably a unique case”laughed Sergio Scariolo. In addition to the brilliant shots of the two Frenchmen, the meeting will remain one of the most spectacular at the beginning of the season, with an unbearable last quarter that Real won with 38-37, the second most fruitful in the history of the Euroleague by total points.
This evening, however, will remain bittersweet for Silveno Francisco, who is very upset about the arbitration. While Real had 12 more free throws than Kaunas in the second half, the leaders did not hesitate.
We fought until the end, but we didn’t get a single whistle from the referees.he lamented. “That’s what’s crazy. You can’t win under these conditions. I hate losing. I accept defeat to move forward, but a defeat like this sucks. I feel like we should have won that game. We can’t lose like this. The Euroleague doesn’t want to talk about refereeing. But now they have to take things seriously, because there are some things that I can’t accept even on my own.
In the table, this defeat is in any case the third consecutive setback for Žalgiris from Kaunas, who fell from third to fifth place (7 wins – 5 losses). Real Madrid, for its part, returned to balance (6 wins – 6 losses) and temporarily returned to the play-in zone, in tenth place.
2025-11-21 13:58:00
