CAB was an example of union, cohesion and determination

The men's team of the CAB and Benfica faced for the fourth time in just two for game four of the men's league semi-finals. Leading ‘the series’ by two victories against only one of the Madeirans, the great pressure of the game was on the side of the Lisboners, because they have resources that are unimaginable for the Madeira team. Even so, the CAB, motivated by all the great exhibitions it performed against Benfica, including in yesterday's game, knew that it had its possibilities and wanted to win today's game in order to force the realization of a fifth game, in which anything could happen given the specificities of such a game. The match began best for the CAB team, which won the first half for 26-23. The entry of the Madeirans was indeed brilliant, a fact that much was due to the almost perfect execution of the prepared game plan, always based on a continuous rotation of the ball and an offensive orientation based on the collective. In the second half, the CAB was well for the overwhelming majority of the time. However, Friends went through a phase that lasted between three and four minutes in which they were not collectively so cohesive. This low period was used by Benfica's individual talents to score the points they had not achieved in the previous period and to win the partial by 10-21, placing the overall result at the interval in 36-44. In the third half, balance was once again the dominant note. Although the Lisboners won the partial for 20-22, the CAB was the strongest team in the field – because that was it: a team. The great difference between the two formations was in the percentage of use, which was higher in Benfica (55%, compared with 47% of the CAB), which put the marker at 56-66 after thirty minutes of play. In the last time, the CAB was, twice ‘seek the game’ and stayed at a margin of two or three Benfica points. A CAB Pavilion, again full, once again believed in victory, transmitting great strength to the players and the entire CAB bank. There were moments of great emotion and even of spectacle, with the CAB showing that it is a team of great category and that it is able to play ‘eyes in the eyes’ against any League team. The delivery, ambition and determination of the CAB men were, however, contradicted by individual displays of visitors, whose rich squad offers various attack solutions. Benfica never really had the game in hand and the CAB, of great level and claw, failed the goal of winning just because, in small details (which are important in a basketball game) was not as effective as he wanted and certainly deserved. Despite losing the match by 72-86 (a margin that does not reflect the enormous balance between the two formations and even the Madeiran superiority in large spaces of the game), the CAB showed to the present and all who have followed the time of the Madeirans that basketball is actually a game based on a strong collective feeling and on which success is measured, not by the skill of one or another player of the squad, but by the cohesion and union of a group of players who see themselves as a family and whose motto is ‘TOGETHER’. An example for the sport. An example for all of us.